Mano’s men beat Maldives in opener

Mano’s men beat Maldives in opener

Mano’s men take on Maldives in opener

Thailand beat the Maldives 3-0 in the AFC Asian Cup opener as coach Mano Polking knew the War Elephants’ chances of making it to the AFC Asian Cup finals rest on their performances against the minnows in Group C.

Midfielder Sarach Yooyen and striker Teerasil Dangda scored two goals 10 minutes before the break, and defender Pansa Hemviboon added another at 80th minute.

Thailand will meet Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The other team in the group is hosts Uzbekistan.

Thailand are at No.111 in Fifa world rankings, while Uzbekistan are No.83, the Maldives No.156 and Sri Lanka are way down in 205th place.

The six group winners and five best runners-up qualify for the 2023 finals.

Polking told a pre-match press conference on Tuesday that his…