Singapore coach Sundramoorthy confident in semi-final chance

Singapore head coach Sundramoorthy said his team still has a big chance to qualify for the semi-final after losing against Thailand in their second matchday at the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016.

The War Elephants left it late to break the Lions’ heart with a 1-0 victory at the Philippines Sports Stadium when substitute striker Sarawut Masuk’s header in the 89th minute finally broke the Singapore defense.

The result, which followed their opening scoreless draw against hosts Philippines, mean that Singapore now need to beat Indonesia in their last group game to have any chance of advantaging to the semi-final.

“We still have a big chance to qualify [for the semi-final],” Sundramoorthy said after the match. “I think we will qualify if we beat Indonesia. The next game will be very important for us.”

Meanwhile, Thailand manager Kiatisuk revealed that he had to change his team’s tactics in order to defeat a stubborn Singapore.

“We knew this won’t be easy for us because Singapore had held Japan to a draw before,” the coach known as Zico told reporters. “I thought we could get three points from this game when we made a change from a back-four to a back-three formation, and we have won.

“We have qualified, but we will have to play at 100% in the next game. We will keep focus and try to get three points from the Philippines,” he added.

The final two matches of Group A will take place on Friday night at Philippines Sports Stadium and Rizal Memorial Stadium.