"Coach Mee" leads the Thai futsal team in their first training session as they prepare for the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup, setting goals match by match.
On 7 January 2026 at 16:00, at the futsal court on the 2nd floor of the FA Thailand building, the Thai men's national futsal team reported for duty before starting their first training session to prepare for the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup final tournament, which will be held from 27 January to 7 February 2026 in Indonesia.
The team reporting was led by “Coach Mee” Rakphol Sainetngam, the new head coach of the Thai men's national futsal team, along with all 20 players. Only Muhammad Usman Musa was absent due to club commitments in the Spanish league and will join the team later.
During the reporting, Coach Mee Rakphol Sainetngam said, "We can’t do much today since the players rested for two weeks. Today’s focus is on playing tactics in our style and analyzing data to assist us. We need new methods because we have only about 20 days of training and must quickly fix the team’s errors as best as possible."
"What I want to add is aggressive defense, which is crucial for the AFC Championship. To succeed, we must have a solid defense. This squad was selected from players in good form; some performed well in leagues that are currently closed. We can’t change players much because we don’t have time to scout others. AFC allowed a 25-player list, and I believe the players called up have outstanding form, continuing the foundation laid by Coach Miguel. The staff is fully prepared, including Wisarut Sirwatchjirapong (Asming Tale) who joined from Malaysia as a goalkeeper coach. He brings experience to help train the goalkeepers specifically."
"In our group, Lebanon also changed coaches to a Brazilian coach we've encountered before and who is quite good. Kuwait appointed Bruno as coach, whose style we know well. We have faced Vietnam often; they are a strong team. We cannot underestimate any team. What we can control is ourselves: training hard with clear goals and playing styles."
"Our goal is to take it match by match. We can’t predict results but focus on how well we perform in each game. I aim to gain points in every match without pressuring myself or the players. We will try our best and fix weaknesses as quickly as possible. I don’t want to set a target to win the championship yet, but I am confident in all players and will work to solve problems since the tournament preparation time is limited to about 20 days. We have about 8 to 9 issues to address, especially defense. We will try to fix what we can. I ask Thai futsal fans to support us. I am a Thai coach with Thai blood and players. Please cheer us on. I promise to perform well and do my best for Thailand."
Thai national team defender Iticha Praphaphan said, "I feel good to serve the national team again. Over the New Year, I restarted myself and rested my mind. Now I am ready to serve the team again. Working with Coach Mee is good because he has been with the Thai national team and Thai league for a long time and likely understands how Thai players play and their style. I think it’s great that Coach Mee has returned as our coach."
"I think what our team needs to improve, as Coach Mee mentioned, is first the defense because we tend to concede goals easily. Also, our finishing was not sharp in the recent SEA Games. The team has good chemistry, but we need Coach Mee to add more tactical details beyond what we had in the SEA Games and previous tournaments."
"Our goal this time is definitely to reach the final because we missed out in the SEA Games. Therefore, we want to restore our standing by making it to the final in the AFC Championship. I invite all futsal fans to cheer for us, whether via social media pages, broadcasts, or in person in Indonesia. We hope to see strong support."
The Thai men's national futsal team will continue training and then select the final 14 players to prepare for departure to Indonesia on 24 January 2026.
The Thai men's national futsal team’s group stage schedule for the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup is as follows:
27 January 2026
Thailand vs. Lebanon
13:00
Jakarta International Velodrome
29 January 2026
Kuwait vs. Thailand
17:00
Jakarta International Velodrome
31 January 2026
Thailand vs. Vietnam
15:00
Indonesia Arena
Live broadcast on Youtube: BG Sports