Thailand's U23 footballers ready for hostile crowd test, eye final spot
Head coach Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul admitted his players did not impress with their performance in the group stage, which saw the team beat Timor Leste 4-0 and draw 0-0 with Myanmar.
"We won Group C in the preliminary round, but our form was not that good and there are many things we need to improve and adjust," said Thawatchai during a pre-match press conference on Thursday.
"I think the players will perform better in the semi-final against Indonesia. We have come this far in the tournament and we must be ready both mentally and physically to face a good team like Indonesia."
He continued, "Indonesia are a good team. We expect a lot of home fans in the stadium for tomorrow's [today's] match and I know the players will be under a lot of pressure but it will be a good experience for all of them. If they come through this match, they will be stronger in future international tournaments," he added.
Team captain Seksan Ratree said, "I am very happy that the team qualified for the semi-finals and as the coach said our form is still not good enough and we hope that tomorrow [today] will be a good day for our team."
Vietnam and the Philippines will face off in the other semi-final. The match between Thailand and Indonesia will kick off at 8pm and will be live on Thai Rath TV, BG Sports, AIS Play and True Visions Now.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Thailand's U23 footballers ready for hostile crowd test, eye final spot
Thailand will take on hosts Indonesia in the semi-finals of the Asean U23 Championship (Mandiri Cup) at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Friday night. Head coach Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul admitted his players did not impress with their performance in the group stage, which saw the team beat Timor Leste 4-0 and draw 0-0 with Myanmar. "We won Group C in the preliminary round, but our form was not that good and there are many things we need to improve and adjust," said Thawatchai during a pre-match press conference on Thursday. "I think the players will perform better in the semi-final against Indonesia. We have come this far in the tournament and we must be ready both mentally and physically to face a good team like Indonesia." He continued, "Indonesia are a good team. We expect a lot of home fans in the stadium for tomorrow's [today's] match and I know the players will be under a lot of pressure but it will be a good experience for all of them. If they come through this match, they will be stronger in future international tournaments," he added. Team captain Seksan Ratree said, "I am very happy that the team qualified for the semi-finals and as the coach said our form is still not good enough and we hope that tomorrow [today] will be a good day for our team." Vietnam and the Philippines will face off in the other semi-final. The match between Thailand and Indonesia will kick off at 8pm and will be live on Thai Rath TV, BG Sports, AIS Play and True Visions Now.
Bangkok Post
11-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Seksan to captain Thai U23 team at Asean C'ship
New Thailand U23 football team coach Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul has handed the captain's armband to Buriram United midfielder Seksan Ratree for next week's Asean Championship in Indonesia. The official training for the tournament started yesterday with Thawatchai and his staff coaches attempting to help the players improve their fitness. Before yesterday's practice session, Thawatchai said: "We have devised a plan for the team already. "We studied the strong and weak points of each player and have based our strategy on that. "We will have a warm-up match with Police Tero on Sunday before leaving for Indonesia for the Asean Championship. We have a plan for the youth tournament as well. "I am not worried about our preparations although we have had limited time. We will just try to do our best. We must keep on working hard. "We are trying to tell the players that they should feel proud that they are playing for Thailand rather than feeling the burden of wearing the national jersey. "I believe in the potential of many players. Our offence is good but we need to sharpen our forwards' scoring skills. "Obviously we would want to win the trophy but with such a short training stint, I think it is a longshot." Seksan said: "I think most of the players are ready for the tournament in Indonesia but we will have to play at full potential." Thailand are scheduled to play Group C first-round matches of the regional event against Timor Leste on July 19 followed by a clash with Myanmar three days later. New signings for Kirins Muang Thong United have added Brazilians Diego Reis and Batata to their squad for the new domestic season. Diego Reis, 20, is a product of Flamengo's youth academy while the 19-year-old Batata has joined from Botafogo. Besides having the two Brazilian players, the Kirins have also signed Austrian goalkeeer Armin Grems. The 30-year-old stand custodian, who stands 190cm tall, comes from Austrian league side SKU Amstetten.
Bangkok Post
10-07-2025
- Bangkok Post
Thawatchai sets sights on elusive SEA Games football gold
New Thailand U23 national team coach Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul has vowed to end the Kingdom's eight-year barren run at the SEA Games in December this year. Thawatchai was speaking to the media after the national youth team reported for a training camp on Wednesday to prepare for the Asean U23 Championship in Indonesia. Thailand are scheduled to play their first game of the regional event against Timor Leste on July 19 followed by a clash with Myanmar three days later. Thawatchai has replaced Japanese coach Takayuki Nishikaya, whose contract was terminated earlier this month after the Thai U23 side lost all of their five matches during his nine-month reign. "We don't have much time to prepare for the tournament in Indonesia, but we will do our best," said Thawatchai, a former Thailand international. "Our most important assignments this year will be the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers in September and the SEA Games in December in Thailand. "Our first task will be to try our best to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia." Thailand will host the Group F games of the September event, taking on Malaysia, Lebanon and Mongolia. Thawatchai added: "We have not won the SEA Games gold medal since 2017 when we last triumphed in Malaysia. We must win the title this time. "Once again, our main opponents at the SEA Games will be Vietnam. Indonesia will also be among the contenders for the gold medal in December." Meanwhile, PTT Public Company Limited has presented a cheque of 25 million baht to the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) to support its activities. FAT president Nualphan Lamsam received the first half of the annual sponsorship from PTT Executive Vice President for Corporate Reputation and Social Responsibility Meena Supavivat at a ceremony on Wednesday.
