The presence of these two stars from Japan made coach Masatada Ishii of the Thai team smile happily when meeting them at the camp. Ekanit Panya and Suphachok Sarachat are the two most important factors of the "War Elephants" in the goal of defending the AFF Cup championship. They are also the last ones in the list of 26 players called up to be present.
With Ekanit Panya, the Thai team's attack will be very strong at the AFF Cup. In addition, Suphachok Sarachat plays very talentedly.
Previously, the Thai team played the first match in Group A of the 2024 AFF Cup against East Timor (winning with a record score of 10-0) at Hang Day Stadium ( Hanoi ) on December 8, with only 21 players, including 2 goalkeepers.
In this match, although the "War Elephants" won big, they lost a player with the player who opened the score and scored a double in the match, attacking midfielder Ben Davis, being injured and at risk of missing the entire group stage.
However, after returning home to prepare for the next match against Malaysia at 8pm on December 14 at Rajamangala Stadium, the Thai team had 3 notable additions including players from Ratchaburi Club who gathered late to join the team: goalkeeper Kampol Pathomakkakul, defenders Jonathan Khemdee and Apisit Sorada.
These players gathered late because they were playing with Ratchaburi FC against Buriram United in the 15th round of Thai League 1 on December 8. Meanwhile, the two players from Japan were highly expected by coach Masatada Ishii. However, both Ekanit Panya and Suphachok Sarachat had to wait for approval from their home clubs before joining the Thai national team.
Coach Masatada Ishii in a friendly match between Thailand and Vietnam in September.
Suphachok Sarachat is playing for Consadole Sapporo, which was recently relegated from J.League 1 to J.League 2. The 26-year-old is still under contract with the Japanese team until December 2027 and is valued at $840,000 (about VND21.3 billion), according to Transfermarkt .
As for Ekanit Panya, the 25-year-old player has just left Urawa Red Diamonds after 2 seasons playing in the Japanese top flight, when his loan contract ended and he returned to Muangthong United. Whether or not Ekanit Panya will return to Japan in the 2025 season is still under negotiation.
At this time, Ekanit Panya and Suphachok Sarachat return to play for the Thai national team at the AFF Cup 2024. Through that, they will certainly help the "War Elephants" increase their strength significantly. These are the two most typical players of Thai football after the most recent generation played very successfully in Japan such as Chanathip Songkrasin or Theerathon Bunmathan...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/aff-cup-doi-tuyen-thai-lan-da-du-ngoi-sao-hlv-masatada-ishii-cuoi-hon-ho-185241212123124141.htm
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