Rakphol Sainetngam reflects on the Thailand national futsal team's failure at the 2025 SEA Games and states the goal of competing for the 2026 Asian Championship.
On 26 Jan 2026 GMT+7 at the press conference room of Indonesia Arena, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held a press briefing ahead of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 final round for Group B. The briefing included four Group B nations: Thailand, Vietnam, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Thailand was represented by head coach Rakphol Sainetngam.
Recently, "Coach Bear" Rakphol Sainetngam said, "We have about 20 days to prepare the team since I took over as head coach of the Thailand national futsal team. We have around 2-3 new players. In this Asian Championship, we will do our best in the tournament."
"Coming here feels like returning to a second home for me. Previously, I had the opportunity to work in Indonesia for four years. I know well that Thailand recently faltered at the SEA Games by losing to Indonesia in the last match. But I have to help Thai futsal players, especially regarding their mental state. Some might have confidence issues; sometimes we lose confidence, which is very important in futsal. I see it as normal for such problems to arise."
"We have over 20 days to fix these issues. The first thing we address with the players is building their mental strength. We work hard and focus on many details with the players. One thing I hope for is that we don’t look too far ahead. I can say I’m confident we will reach the final, but for now, I focus on one game at a time and try to help the players be mentally ready and perform their best in this tournament."
"Like all coaches in this press room, I believe Asian futsal is now highly competitive. Every team has improved to a high level. We cannot overlook any team. We have to focus on game by game. We know Thai futsal had a golden era led by Suphawut Thueanklang and others. But this group has many good young players with skills and quality, though they may lack experience. This team includes 2-3 new players who have never played in the Asian Championship final round before. I hope these players will play confidently and enjoy the tournament."
The Thailand men's national futsal team will train again before competing in the 2026 Asian Championship group stage, with the following schedule:
Match 1
27 January 2026 GMT+7
Thailand vs Lebanon
13:00
Jakarta International Velodrome
Match 2
29 January 2026 GMT+7
Kuwait vs Thailand
17:00
Jakarta International Velodrome
Match 3
31 January 2026 GMT+7
Thailand vs Vietnam
15:00
Indonesia Arena