Thailand women's team uses domestic players to face Indonesia in AFF Cup 2025

(Dan Tri) - The Thai women's team will not use players playing abroad in the opening match against the Indonesian women's team at the AFF Cup 2025 taking place at 4:30 p.m. today (August 6).

"The AFF Cup is not on FIFA's competition schedule, which means Thai players playing abroad cannot join the national team, but I consider this an important opportunity for our young players to develop and gain practical experience in international tournaments," coach Futoshi Ikeda of the Thai women's team said before the opening match against Indonesia at Lach Tray Stadium ( Hai Phong ) this afternoon.

Thailand women's team will use all domestic players to face Indonesia in the 2025 AFF Cup (Photo: FAT).

At the AFF Cup 2025, while the Indonesian team used 3 naturalized players of Dutch origin, the Thai team called up many young players promoted from the U20 team. Coach Ikeda believes that this will not be an obstacle but on the contrary, will contribute positively to the performance of the whole team.

"We have some young players from the U20 team, as well as players who have been promoted to the national team. I believe the experience they gain from this tournament will be a great motivation and help strengthen the team in the long run," added coach Ikeda.

However, coach Ikeda is facing a lot of pressure, because the Thai women's team has just gone through a difficult period, unable to win a ticket to the Asian Cup for the first time in 28 years.

Thailand's goal in the AFF Cup is to win the championship and this is also the only way for the Japanese strategist to keep his seriously shaky seat.

"First of all, I would like to thank the host Vietnam for the warm welcome. The main goal of the Thai team in this tournament is to reach the semi-finals, and the ultimate goal is to win the championship.

We want to develop the team's potential and help the players mature through their experience in this tournament," coach Ikeda affirmed.

The Thai women's team will compete in a group with Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. According to the schedule, the Thai women's team will meet Indonesia on August 6, followed by Cambodia on August 9 and finally the Vietnamese women's team on August 12.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/tuyen-nu-thai-lan-su-dung-noi-binh-doi-dau-indonesia-o-aff-cup-2025-20250806080215138.htm