"Coach Wang" speaks frankly on Cambodia's withdrawal before Thailand's debut in the hunt for the 2025 SEA Games football championship.
On 2 Dec 2025 at 13:30 GMT+7, at the press conference room inside Rajamangala Stadium, the SEA Games organizing committee held a pre-tournament press briefing for the men's football event of Group A, which includes Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.
Thailand sent head coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul to participate in the press conference.
At the event, Coach Wang said, "Our goal is clearly the championship. We have been away from winning the SEA Games since 2017 in Malaysia."
"As hosts this year, we have prepared the team for several months with multiple training camps, including the ASEAN Championship in Indonesia, the Asian qualifiers in Thailand, friendlies in China, and most recently in India. We have selected the best players from four top camps in Thailand for this SEA Games competition."
"Some key players across several camps have suffered injuries, but we have backup plans. In our first game against Timor-Leste, whom we faced before at the ASEAN Cup in Indonesia, they have developed well and cannot be underestimated, along with Singapore."
"We have prepared thoroughly, including plans B and C for player rotation due to league tournaments. We believe we can win the SEA Games, which requires playing four games. Player rotation must be handled carefully across both matches."
"We have done our homework and will apply it during the SEA Games. The first step is to top our group before aiming for the semifinals and final."
"The SEA Games is a major ASEAN sports event, and we hope many nations participate and compete together. It's unfortunate that Cambodia has withdrawn, but we still have plans. Our goal remains clear: to reclaim the SEA Games title and ASEAN football supremacy, we must be able to face every team."
"We haven't hosted the SEA Games for a long time, nor won the football title in many editions. I invite Thai fans to come cheer and support the team in the stadium or follow news from all media outlets. As head coach of Thailand's men's SEA Games football team, I will do my best to make Thai fans proud and happy with our performance."
#Matchday1
3 December 2025 GMT+7
19:00 Timor-Leste vs Thailand
Rajamangala Stadium
Live broadcast on ONE HD channel 31 and True Visions NOW app
#Matchday2
11 December 2025 GMT+7
19:00 Thailand vs Singapore
Rajamangala Stadium
Broadcast channel to be confirmed
The semifinals and final will be held at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on 15 and 18 December 2025, respectively.