Thailand determined to reclaim its position as 'big brother' in Southeast Asia

Thailand coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul said his ambition is to help his team win the Southeast Asian U23 championship.

Mr. Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul wants Thailand to win the U23 Southeast Asian Championship - Photo: FAT

Head coach of Thailand U23, Mr. Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul (nicknamed Coach Wang), shared very openly about the preparation of the "war elephants" at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Indonesia.

He affirmed that the clear goal is to win the championship to reclaim the position of Thai football in the region. At the same time, he considered this an important stepping stone towards the Asian arena.

"The team's preparations are almost 100% complete now. We have been training for 4-5 days and had a friendly match with Police Tero. This match will help the players understand the tactics better, especially when facing a team with three defenders," said coach Wang.

According to Siamsport, he also revealed that the team's arrival in Indonesia four days early was an advantage given the limited time available to prepare for the tournament.

Coach Wang confirmed that he received good cooperation from the coaches at the club. He also revealed a conversation with former head coach of the Thai national team, Mr. Charnwit Phalajivin:

"Coach Charnwit said that young Thai players have good individual skills. What we need to do is set a framework for them to play freely, not limit the players' abilities too much. I completely agree and will try to build a system that allows them to show their full potential."

The head coach of U23 Thailand is also confident when talking about direct opponents in the tournament: "Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia are teams with the same level as us. If we pass the group stage, I will have more information about them. I believe that my team has a chance to win. The only goal is to win the Southeast Asian championship."

At U23 Southeast Asia 2025, Thailand fell into a fairly easy group C when only meeting Myanmar and Timor Leste.

The 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship will take place from July 15 to 29 in Indonesia with the participation of 10 teams, divided into 3 groups. The teams will compete in a round-robin to calculate points, selecting the 3 group winners and 1 second-place team with the best results to enter the semi-finals.

Back to topic

THANH DINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thai-lan-quyet-doi-lai-vi-the-anh-ca-tai-dong-nam-a-20250715092031362.htm