The Thai women's football team celebrate after the final whistle is blown.
By Terry Fredrickson
Thailand is in the World Cup, not in Brazil of course but in the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, thanks to a win over Vietnam last night.
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Thai women footballers into World Cup
Story by Tor Chittinand
The World Cup in Brazil will have stories like this one every day. Learn to read them in English as well as Thai in "World Cup English". (In stores this weekend.)
Thailand secured a historic World Cup 2015 berth on Wednesday night when they beat Vietnam 2-1 in Ho Chi Minh City to finish fifth at the AFC Women's Asian Cup.
Two second-half goals by Kanjana Sung-Ngoen gave Thailand a 2-0 lead until Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dong cut the deficit minutes before the final whistle.
Coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian's team became the first Thai side, men or women, to qualify for the World Cup at the senior level. Thailand has played in a couple of World Cup finals at the junior level.
"We have achieved our World Cup dream," said Nuengrutai whose team also beat Vietnam by the same scoreline in the SEA Games final last year.
The top five teams at the Women's Asian Cup qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Thailand will join world champions Japan, Australia, China and South Korea as Asia's representatives at the finals.
That quartet progressed to the Women's World Cup as semi-finalists at the Women's Asian Cup.
The Thais dominated the first half but Vietnam goalkeeper Dang Thi Kieu Trinh denied them with two fine saves.
After a goal-less first half, Thailand went ahead on 48 minutes following a slip by a Vietnamese defender which allowed striker Kanjana to calmly slot home.
It galvanised the visitors who were outclassed in their first two group games in Ho Chi Minh City.
Kanjana Sung-Ngoen (hands raised) celebrates with her team after scoring against Vietnam during their AFC Women's Asian Cup soccer match at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.
On 65 minutes a dangerous cross-shot from Kanjana was judged to have been parried over the line by the home side's goalkeeper sparking delirium among the Thai players and bench.
But Vietnam threatened a late fightback with a long-range shot on 85 minutes by Tuyet Dong.
It sparked a late and ultimately fruitless surge on the Thai goal as Vietnam finished the tournament in sixth place.
In the group stage, Thailand lost 7-0 to China, were defeated 4-0 by South Korea and beat Myanmar 2-1.
Vocabulary
achieve: to succeed in doing something very good or difficult - บรรลุผลสำเร็จ
beat: to win over someone; to defeat someone - ชนะ
bench: the players on a sports team who are not playing at the moment and are sitting the bench, ready to come on as substitutes - ตัวสำรอง, ผู้เล่นสำรอง
berth: a place or position - ตำแหน่ง
calmly: in a relaxed way without anxiety - อย่างใจเย็น, อย่างไม่ตื่นเต้น, อย่างสงบ
couple: two things or people - สอง, สองสิ่ง, คนสองคน
defeated: beaten; caused to lose in a fight or war - ที่พ่ายแพ้
defender: a player whose job is to stop the other team scoring in a game such as football - ผู้ป้องกัน
deficit: the amount by which something is too small or smaller or less than something else - จำนวนที่น้อยกว่า, จำนวนที่ขาด
delirium: an excited state and not able to think or speak clearly - ภาวะที่มีอารมณ์ตื่นเต้นมาก
deny: to cause to be unsuccessful; to not allow someone do something - ทำให้เไม่สำเร็จ, ไม่ยอม
dominate: to be in control - มีอิทธิพลเหนือ ครอบคลุม ควบคุม
fightback: an effort by a person, group or team to get back to a strong position that they have lost; a comeback - การกลับสู่ความสำเร็จอีกครั้ง
fruitless: producing no good results, especially despite a lot of work - ไร้ผล, ไร้ประโยชน์
galvanise: to shock or affect someone enough to produce a strong and immediate reaction - กระตุ้น
group stage: the opening part of a tournament where the teams/players are put into groups and compete against other group members. The top teams/players (usually two) then go on to the next stage -
historic: of historical importance - ที่สำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์
judge: to form an opinion about somebody/something, based on the information you have - ตัดสิน
level: a position or rank in a scale of size or importance - ระดับ
long-range: not close; from a long distance - ระยะไกล
outclass: to be much better than someone or something else (to be outclassed means to be much worse than someone or something else) - เหนือกว่า, ดีกว่า
parry: to defend yourself against somebody who is attacking you by pushing their arm, weapon, etc. to one side - ปัดป้อง
progress: to move to the next level of a competition - เข้ารอบ
qualify: to be of a high enough standard to enter a competition; to defeat another person or team in order to enter or continue in a competition - เข้ารอบ, ทำให้มีคุณสมบัติ
quartet: a group of four people or things - กลุ่มที่มีสี่คน, กลุ่มที่มีสี่อย่าง
scoreline: the final score or result in a game, competition, etc - ผลการแข่งขัน
secure: to get or achieve something - ได้มา
semi-finalist: one of the four teams entering the semi-finals, the two matches that decides which teams/players enter the finals. - ผู้เข้าแข่งขันกีฬารอบรองชนะเลิศ
senior: with a high rank or position - อาวุโส
slip: to slide out of position or out of your hand - ลื่นไถล
slot: to put something into a space that is available, in this case, to shoot the ball into the goal - ใส่ลงในช่อง
spark: to make something happen - ก่อให้เกิด
striker: a football player whose job is to stay near the opponent’s goal and to score goals - ศูนย์หน้าตัวเป้า
surge: a rapid forward movement, especially by a group of people or things - การเคลื่อนเข้ามา
threaten: to put at risk; to put in danger - ทำให้ตกอยู่ในความเสี่ยง
ultimately: finally, after a series of things have happened - ท้ายที่สุด, ตอนสุดท้าย, ในที่สุด
whistle: a small metal or plastic tube that you blow to make a loud high sound, used to attract attention or as a signal - นกหวีด
