Thailand confirmed their position as Group A winners today when they completed their group fixtures with a 9-0 beating of Myanmar here at the Phu Tho Stadium.
Both teams had gone into the match on equal six points each but it was Thailand who showed that they are head and shoulders above their opponents.
“I think Myanmar played only in the first ten minutes as after that with the yellow cards that they have, they just sat back and changed the players as they wanted to concentrate for the semifinals,” said Thailand head coach Jose Mendez.
Watchara Laisri was on target with a hat trick off goals in the 16th, 25th and 40th minute as the Thais then added six more goals for the handsome win.
The other Thai goals were scored by Jirawat Sornwichian in the 21st minute, Suphawut Thueanklang (23rd) , Jetsada Chudech (27th), Kritsada Wongkeow (32nd), Natavut Madyalan (34th) and Pornmongkol Srisubseang (39th).
“We had some players on yellow cards, so we have to be careful in this game against Thailand,” added Myanmar head coach Htay Myint.
In the meantime, Timor Leste and Cambodia made it a hugely entertaining game in their final appearance this year when they battled to a 4-4 draw.
Cambodia could not have started better than getting a gift off an own goal from Remigio Duarte in the very first minute of play.
Kea Lyhang then added the second goal a minute later as Heng Sokly’s seventh minute strike made sure that Cambodia were comfortable in front.
The score at the end of the first half was 3-2 with Timor Leste pulling a goal back in the 9th minute through Mario Moniz and Bendito Ximenez’s 19th minute effort.
But while Cambodia managed to extend their lead to 4-2 when Orkchan Sereyvong slotted home in the 22nd minute, they just seem to lose focus as they allowed Timor to claw their way back into the game.
Moniz grabbed his second and Timor’s third in the 31st minute as Eufrasio Soares then pegged it all square a minute later.
The draw saw Timor Leste finishing their campaign on third in Group A ahead of Cambodia on better goals difference.
RESULTS
GROUP A
Thailand 9 Myanmar 0
Timor Leste 4 Cambodia 4
FINAL GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
| No | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | THAILAND | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | +32 | 9 |
| 2 | MYANMAR | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 6 |
| 3 | TIMOR LESTE | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 22 | -16 | 1 |
| 4 | CAMBODIA | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 29 | -22 | 0 |
- Teams in bold qualify for semifinals
