Hosts UAE’s maiden appearance in the AFC Futsal Championships ended abruptly on Sunday night after Thailand came back from a goal down to win their final Group A encounter 4-2 at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium in Dubai.
The win was Thailand’s third in as many games and they progressed to the last eight as leaders, with Kyrgyzstan, who beat Turkmenistan 2-1 at Al Shabab, taking second place.
The UAE took the lead in the opening minute when Abdulkarim Jamil slotted home a Wael Mohamed assist past Thailand goalkeeper Surapong Tompa.
The Thais got back into the match three minutes later after Apiwat Chaemcharoen levelled the score, before they took they went ahead in the 10th minute through Jirawat Sornwichian. It soon became a 3-1 lead when Kritsada Wongkaeo scored just before half-time.
UAE coach Padu was sent to the stands for protesting aggressively, before Suphawat made it 4-1 with a shot from the left. Jamil scored his second to reduce the deficit in the dying seconds.
Padu did not attend the post match presser, but his deputy Mohammed Al Mazrouqi said the UAE had learnt a lot on their debut. “This tournament has been a great learning experience for us and hopefully it will drive Futsal forward in the country. We did well but were unlucky at times,” Al Mazrouqi said.
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