The confrontation between the Thai and Chinese women's futsal teams on the afternoon of May 15 was full of tension and excitement from the first minutes.
The Southeast Asian representative took the lead in the 11th minute after a difficult corner kick by captain Tappakun.
The ball suddenly hit the foot of Chinese defender Yinglan and changed direction to fly straight into the net, leaving goalkeeper Danping unable to react.
However, it did not take long for China to bring the match back to balance. In the 16th minute, Fan Yuqiu seized the opportunity in a mess in front of the goal to score an equalizer to level the score at 1-1.
Immediately after that, a mistake from the Thai goalkeeper helped Cao Jiayi easily finish to increase the score to 2-1 for the Reds.
The difficulties did not stop for Thailand when goalkeeper Sprapha was sent off at the end of the first half after a foul on Su Jiahong.
Despite being at a disadvantage in both score and personnel, the Thai girls still played resiliently in the second half.
In the 26th minute, they were awarded a penalty after the ball touched the hand of a Chinese player in the penalty area. Bubpha made no mistake in taking a cool kick back to the starting lineup.
The match became even more stuffy when in the 32nd minute, from a shot on the left wing, Saetoen fired a powerful shot that confused the Chinese defender against the home team, sealing an emotional 3-2 victory for Thailand.
Overcoming China in a dramatic match, the Thai women's futsal team not only qualified for the Asian final but also made a miracle by becoming the first women's team in Southeast Asia to qualify for the Women's Futsal World Cup finals.
