Thailand U23 coach believes there is a chance to win at the Asian level
The only goal from Jonathan Khemdee's penalty in the second half of the first half helped Thailand beat host Qatar early this morning on March 26. "We are satisfied with the result," Mr Issara said after the match. "Today's victory gives us more confidence in the opportunity to win for Thai football when it comes to the Asian arena."
Thailand showed an impressive face in the friendly tournament U23 Doha Cup 2023. Before defeating Qatar, Thailand drew Saudi Arabia 2-2 in the first round to finish third after two matches, only after the two teams won the UAE. and Korea.
The generation of players born in 2001 showed a more impressive face than the previous generation, including some impressive names such as striker Teerasak Poeiphimai, midfielder Channarong Promsrikaew or midfielder Khemdee. This U23 collective can be even stronger if there is more Suphanat Mueanta - a striker born in 2002 who has just scored for the national team in a friendly defeat 1-3 Syria.
Coach Issara also determined to build a modern pressing game for this group of players. "We are ready and have to put style first," he said. However, the Thai players still have many details to improve such as fitness or finishing ability. In the victory over Qatar, Sritaro assessed the players "there are still many moments when they can't do it like in practice, leading to mistakes but not having to pay the price with a goal".
Seeing the positive results at the Doha Cup 2023 is encouraging, but coach Sritaro still wants to see the friendly tournament as a good opportunity to test personnel. "The team is a bit tired, so I will rotate the squad so that each player can play at least half a game," added the coach born in 1980.
Since the 2017 SEA Games gold medal, Thailand has been weak in achievements, only having more marks in the quarterfinals of Asia U23 2020 at home. Meanwhile, Vietnam won two gold medals at SEA Games 30 and 31, once reached the quarterfinals and once won the Asian U23 runner-up. The Football Federation of Thailand (FAT) is expecting the generation of players born in 2001 to help regain their position in Southeast Asia and Asia. To achieve the goal, FAT selected coach Issara with a UEFA Pro license - the highest rank of the European Football Federation and a lot of experience in training youth U18, U19, and U20 teams.
In the final match of the Doha Cup 2023, Thailand will face Kuwait at dawn on March 29. The representative of West Asia also performed well at the tournament when they respectively won Kyrgyzstan 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia.
