Costly lesson! "Coach Wang" opens up about Thailand U23's red card and penalty incident in the AFC U23 Asian Cup.
On 8 Jan 2026, Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul, head coach of Thailand's U23 national team, gave an interview after the first group stage match of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026.
In the match, Thailand U23 were defeated by Australia U23 with a score of 1-2.
"Today, we feel proud of the players’ style of play. I have said before that Australia is another strong team in Asia, but today everyone showed that we have a good playing style and performed well. It’s just that the result was not what we wanted," Coach Wang said.
"I tried to tell the players before this tournament in Saudi Arabia that we must prepare mentally for the challenges of an Asian-level tournament. Today, they have experienced it firsthand. Experience will teach them decision-making, including dealing with the red card and conceding a penalty. These are costly lessons for all of them. I believe in the next match they will improve."
"We also have to consider the opponent and decide which players to use for the next match. Our goal remains the same. Therefore, we must strive to earn points from the remaining two games to advance. From what I have seen, Iraq is a strong team with skilled players. We must prepare to face quality opponents."
Thailand U23's next match will be against Iraq U23 in the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2026 group stage, Group D, match two, at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Sports City Stadium, Saudi Arabia, on 11 January 2026 at 21:00 Thai time. The match will be broadcast live on YouTube: BG SPORTS.
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