Published on November 21, 2005

[SOCCER] Thai coach Chanvit Polchivin is confident of collecting three points when his side plays the Philippines in their first match of the SEA Games. The Thai men’s team arrived in Bacolod City in the Philippines yesterday. Chanvit said he wasn’t concerned that the Philippines had enlisted six European players into the team, adding that it would be a good opportunity for his players to test their skills against bigger opponents.

“We are 100 per cent ready, and it doesn’t matter that they [the Philippines] will use players from other nationalities. My boys can use this occasion to prove how strong they are,” he said.

The Philippines are confident they can cause problems for every team in the tournament.

“I think we’re going to give many teams a headache,” said the Philippine Football Federation’s Johnny Romualdez after watching his team whitewash the Air Force side 7-0 in their last tune-up game before the biennial meet.

The Filipinos start their campaign against defending champions Thailand at 4pm on Wednesday at the Panaad Stadium.

The soccer started yesterday with Burma losing 3-2 to Laos and Vietnam defeating Singapore 2-1.

The Nation, Agencies

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