Former coach of the Japan national team Akira Nishino addressed the media for the first time in Tokyo on Friday after being officially named as the new Thailand head coach.
The 64-year-old Japanese manager was in no mood to waste time as he set high standards for himself stating that he would love to take Thailand to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
“Of course, I want to take the Thai national team to the World Cup. It is normal. Everyone wants to go to the World Cup. I am determined and fully committed to take the Thailand national team to the World Cup,” Nishino told the reporters in the press conference.
Notably, Thailand are in Group G of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers Round 2. Thailand would be joined by the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
“My immediate goals are the World Cup Qualifiers and the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. We also have the 2019 Southeast Asian Games this year where all ASEAN teams will compete seriously,” said Nishino who said that UAE and ASEAN teams will pose a good challenge for Changsuek in the qualifiers.
“I have the experience of training teams in the J1 League and also the Japanese national team. But I know being the head coach of a foreign national team is not going to be easy. Because Thailand are competing in several tournaments over the next year or so. I feel this is a great challenge and will do my best to help the team,” the Japanese coach added.
Thailand begin their campaign when they host Vietnam on 5 September, Thursday.