UAE coach disappointed at defeat by Thailand

Bert Van Marwijk could not help being disappointed by his players’ performance in their match against Thailand.

After the 1-2 loss in the Thailand vs UAE match, Marwijk expressed his dissatisfaction: “My team’s tempo had problems. Many chances were missed. We could have scored two goals.”

The Dutch coach was asked why he replaced Omar Abdulrahman when the UAE needed to strengthen their attack  after Thailand’s first goal at the beginning of the second half. “I don’t want to talk about my substitution decision. Omar experienced a long period of injury treatment. He played 70 minutes today. I think he did a splendid job. In general, I want to praise him,” Marwijk told reporters.

Marwijk gave credit to rival Thailand. “I tried to mitigate the challenges. Thailand is strong, especially on the left wing. In the first half, we played well and we equalized at the end of the first half. But after the second half began, we didn't play really well.”

At the end of the press conference, the 67-year-old coach said, “The match ended. That’s what happens in football. The team that scores the most goals wins.”

UAE falls to 3rd place in Group G in the 2022 World Cup. They will come My Dinh Stadium to meet Vietnam on November 14.