Alkass Digital
Stefan Tarkovic has challenged his Kyrgyz Republic side to make their mark in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, starting with their Group F clash against Thailand at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium on Tuesday.
The former Slovakia boss has had the luxury of an extended preparation as the White Falcons go in search of a second successive appearance in the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup after they reached the Round of 16 in UAE 2019 - their debut outing in the competition.
Ranked 15 places higher than Thailand in the FIFA World Ranking, the onus is on Kyrgyz Republic to set the tone with an opening win to boost confidence ahead of meetings with Saudi Arabia (Jan 21) and Oman (Jan 25).
“It’s a big honour to be part of the Asian Cup in Qatar, the place where the last FIFA World Cup was played,” said the 50-year-old head coach. “For us, it is a privilege to be here and of course, we would like to show our best football and performance.
“We prepared very well, nearly 40 days of training and games as we started on December 7. We played four build-up matches, the players are well-prepared and we are now excited to start the first game."
“We all know that it’s a tough group. We played Oman in the World Cup qualifier in November, Saudi football is incredible and very developed while Thailand is a bit more difficult to judge because they recently changed their coach.
“This is a challenging situation for our team and players but we have to show up and show what we can do. We want to reach our goals and one of them is to qualify for the next round.”
As for Thailand, the decision to replace Alexandre Polking in late November with Japanese Masatada Ishii as head coach means there could be some uncertainty in the team, as shown in their 5-0 defeat to Japan in an international friendly.
Ishii also does not have the talents of Teerasil Dangda, Chanathip Songkrasin and Supachok Sarachat to count on but the former Kashima Antlers and Buriram United head coach is confident that Thailand will show a different side in Qatar 2023.
“Since the training camp in Thailand and here in Qatar, we have prepared well and we are confident in our strategy and we also saw the dedication of the players,” said Ishii.
“The players are 100% focused. If you look at the Japan versus Vietnam game, you can see that the Southeast Asian level is high, so there’s a standard which we have to maintain and show."
“For Teerasil and Chanathip, even though they are not here, we have a group of players who are ready for this tournament. But we have Theerathon (Bunmanthan) and other very good players who can take us far.
“We’ve analysed the team and we know their attack has speed and they are also solid in defence, so we are aware of their strengths and weaknesses.”
Thailand v Kyrgyz Republic
Kick-off: 17:30 Doha time
Venue: Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium (Doha)