AFF Suzuki Cup: War Elephants maul Azkals 3-0 in Thailand

The Thailand War Elephants booked a return trip to the AFF Suzuki Cup finals after easily dispatching the Philippine Azkals 3-0 in front of a packed Rajamangala Stadium.

Chanathip Songkrasin started the game with a huge statement, scoring a beautiful left-footed goal six minutes into the match to put pressure on the Azkals.

Kroekrit Thawikan then picked up where his teammate left off as he scored two more goals (56’, 86’) in the second half to completely bury the overmatched Philippine side.

The Azkals had to fight off with a disadvantage for much of the match after Thailand’s goal in the sixth minute.

Two yellow cards for the Azkals in the first half did not help their cause. Daisuke Sato was booked for one in the 22nd minute and he was later subbed out by Patrick Reichelt.

Martin Steuble was also booked at the 34th minute.

The 40th minute saw the only good opportunity for the Azkals in the first half as Reichelt sent a header directly to Thailand’s keeper.

The Azkals played well to start the second half as Reichelt had another great strike from just outside the box that was on-target but saved by the Thai keeper. However, just as the Azkals were feeling the momentum was already on their side, Kroekrit Thawikan scored a second goal for the War Elephants in the 56th minute as he received a pretty long pass and shook off Simone Rota’s defense.

To add insult to injury, Steuble got his second yellow card of the match in the 82nd minute, forcing the Azkals to play with 10 men.

The Azkals' woes didn’t end there as Thawikan scored another goal in the 86th minute to close out a dominant performance for the War Elephants.

Thailand awaits the survivor of the other semifinal between Vietnam and Malaysia. The Vietnamese take a 2-1 aggregate lead into the second leg in Hanoi. The AFF Suzuki cup Finals will start on December 17.