From D. Arul Rajoo
PHUKET, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Despite a semifinal berth and his job at stake, everything seems to be an uphill task for national coach B. Sathianathan and his charges when facing in-form Thailand at their own backyard.
A draw would certainly rule out a place in the semifinal and even a win against the host might not be enough since Vietnam may sneak in with a big win against minnows Laos in a match that would be held after the Malaysia-Thailand tie.
Thailand are already assured of a place in the semis after beating Laos 6-0 and Vietnam 2-0.
"This is a do-or-die mission, and based purely on luck. If we win, we will have to wait for the outcome of another match. Vietnam need to beat Laos by more than three goals and they have the advantage of knowing our result first," said Sathianathan.
Malaysia play Thailand at 5pm and the Laos-Vietnam match is on at 7.30pm at the same stadium because Phuket does not have enough stadiums to host both matches simultaneously and Malaysia had refused to play the tie in Bangkok.
Vietnam who lost to Thailand 0-2 beat Malaysia 3-2 to collect three points while Malaysia beat Laos 3-0 and lost to Vietnam and also have three points.
Sathianathan who has been given the ultimatum to make the final or face the prospect of being booted out by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) despite guiding the team to the 2008 Merdeka Tournament final, said the match against the Thais would not be easy as the homesters would go all out to win.
"They are the best in the region. They rested all their best players against Laos while we had to play with our key players in all three matches...it's not easy for players to recuperate, but I am glad we are staying in Phuket for the third game," he said.
There has been rumours that FAM are looking to hire former Indonesian coach Peter White to replace Sathianathan after his one-year contract expired.
Thai chief coach Peter Reid said the team would strive for their third straight win although a semifinal spot in already in the bag.
"I have brought the best players for tomorrow's match as a draw is not good enough for me. But I have also told my players that Malaysia will not be an easy side to beat as they have strong players, good techniques and are desperate to win," said the former England international.
Reid said Malaysia played well against Vietnam but were unfortunate to lose.
-- BERNAMA