War Elephants roar but door stays shut

Despite Thailand’s 6-1 hammering of Taiwan on Tuesday night in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, their coach Masatada Ishii’s repeated warnings still ring loud.

- HANIF HASSAN

Thailand players celebrate during the match against Taiwan on Tuesday night.

The War Elephants did put on a spectacular show in Taipei to follow their 2-0 home victory last Thursday with goals galore.

However, what happened thousands of miles away in a town called Arkadag later on the same night has left the equation unchanged.

In the other Group D match, Turkmenistan regained control by ensuring that there was no repeat of their earlier shock defeat to Sri Lanka.

They remain in control of their destiny after sealing a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka.

The upshot means Turkmenistan are back on top of the group, level on nine points with Thailand but holding a favourable head-to-head record against the Southeast Asians.

Thailand will next play Sri Lanka in their fifth match of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on Nov 18.