The 2008 runners-up booked their place in the quarter-finals following the comfortable win over the Koreans and are top of Group C ahead of their final group match with Vietnam on Tuesday.

"We have to perform well in this tournament, but we are losing players,” said Mandez.

“Before the tournament we lost one of the Suratsawang brothers and now we have lost more players. Nevertheless, we must move forward.”

Korea Republic coach Lee Chang-hwan admitted he always knew the East Asians faced a difficult challenge against Thailand as his side lost their second successive game and have only pride to play for in Tuesday's match with Kyrgyzstan.

"Thailand and Korea, unfortunately for us, the two teams are on different levels,” he said.

“We knew before the game that our chances were slim.

“Our opponents were more technical and more powerful in all areas. We had a good second half, but not enough to perform well in the tournament as a whole.”

Vietnam surprise Mukanov
Kyrgyzstan coach Amirzhan Mukanov, meanwhile, was surprised by the opposition posed by Vietnam and was pleased his side came through with a 4-2 win to remain in the hunt for the last eight.

"I studied the Vietnamese team, but they played better than in the first meeting with the team from Korea,” said Mukanov.

“Frankly speaking, this means that all the teams so far are aligned and this positively affects the level of the Asian futsal.”

Vietnam also remain in the hunt for the semi-finals to better the target set by coach Sergio Gargelli.

"I believe that my players did not deserve the defeat, they fought hard and they did not have any luck,” said the Italian.

“Our goal for the tournament was to win at least one game and we have achieved it.”