After their first match, Thailand were in an awful position.
The Thai FA couldn't take it anymore and losing 4-1 against India was the right timing to fire the manager, Milovan Rajevac. After all that, Thailand had to continue the tournament with a decent performance.
The caretaker manager, Sirisak Yodyardthai, is an anonymous person even in Thai football. He had to take his players and lead them in their next matches. Even the first match against Bahrain, a team that almost all its players are amateurs, was an impossible task in their minds.
Something different happened in that match. The match was even and Bahrain tried to take the lead more than once. Still, Thailand had this single moment of accuracy that led them to the win. Under a caretaker manager, Chanathip Songkrasin took care of his team, scored and gave them a luxurious win. Thailand's all-time record shows that they have now two wins in 22 Asian Cup matches.
Thailand would like to finish the group stage in the third place and maybe even clinch a knockout spot, but taking even a single point against the UAE will be a surprise. After the long journey they had since the beginning of the tournament, which actually was less than a week ago, all they need to do is to keep calm and enjoy the ride. Sirisak Yodyardthai, the caretaker, will try to do it as best as he can.
Sirisak Yodyardthai, won his first match as caretaker, what he will do next? (Asian Football Confederation (AFC))
On Sunday, India won their first Asian Cup match since 1964. Now, The Blue Tigers wish to make it even bigger and defeat the UAE. India came to this match in a good form and the fans in Abu Dhabi made the team to feel like they are playing in front of their home crowd in Kolkata.
Although India played well at the first half, they couldn't handle their opponents after Alberto Zaccheroni's changes during the second half. A great chance by Sunil Chhetri missed the post by few inches, two more shots hit the crossbar and that concludes how India was close to make a better result.
After this match, India need to be focused in their final group stage game against Bahrain. They are currently in a good position for qualifying to the knockout stage. Defeating Bahrain will probably lead them to one of the top two spots in the group, while their current record could be enough to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.