Achievements on the Asian stage
The focus of Thai football fans now is on supporting the young War Elephants, the Thailand U23 national team.
They are about to play their third match in Group D of the AFC U23 Championship final against the leading mainland China team.
On the evening of Wednesday, 14 January, at Al Shabab Club Stadium in Saudi Arabia, 18:30 Thailand time, the match will be broadcast live on YouTube: BG Sports as usual.
Before flying to Saudi Arabia, expectations for this squad were low, as most players were not mainstays of this age group.
The preparation time was quite limited, with many players joining national team training for the first time.
So it was not surprising that they were predicted to be the "group underdogs," expected to give points to other teams.
But who would have thought that Coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul's young War Elephants, undervalued as a squad,
would become a fierce "wild elephant" on the field, impressively challenging their opponents.
Thailand opened with a narrow 1-2 loss to Australia in the first match, which was unfortunate.
They initially took the lead but received an early red card, which became a turning point, putting them at a disadvantage against the Aussies.
In the second match, Thailand fiercely equalized against Iraq in the second half and nearly scored a winning goal.
They earned their first point and kept hopes alive for qualification until the final match, which deserves applause.
In Wednesday’s game against the Dragons, the chance is in their own hands; if the War Elephants U23 win and secure 3 points,
they will advance immediately to the Asian quarterfinals regardless of other results.
Let's all support and send strong encouragement to the young players—cheering for the underdogs with nothing to lose is truly thrilling.
Thai football invests little; if eliminated, it is expected,
but if they win and advance to the knockout stage, it will be a huge gain.
In fact, the performance of Thai football teams—football, futsal, and beach soccer—both men’s and women’s, under "Madam Pang" Nualphan Lamsam, at the Asian level,
when reviewed, is quite respectable.
Starting with the senior men's national team, which is still contending for the Asian Cup final stage.
The War Elephants U23 have already qualified for the AFC U23 Championship 2026 final stage.
They also have a chance to reach the quarterfinals if they defeat China.
The Thailand U17 men's team has secured a spot in the AFC U17 Championship 2026 final stage.
They are competing for one of eight slots to represent Asia at the U17 FIFA World Cup again.
The Thailand U20 women's football team has qualified for the AFC U20 Women's Championship 2026 final stage.
The Thailand U17 women's football team has also advanced to the AFC U17 Women's Championship 2026 final stage.
The senior men's futsal team finished as runners-up in Asia, qualified for the 2024 Futsal World Cup, and reached the last 16.
They have also qualified for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 final stage.
The Thailand U16 men's futsal team finished third at the 2025 Asian Youth Games.
Meanwhile, the Thailand women's futsal team earned the Asian runner-up spot and qualified for the 2025 Futsal Women's World Cup for the first time in history.
The Thailand men's beach soccer team reached the quarterfinals of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025.
As you can see, although recent successes in the ASEAN regional level (where we used to dominate) have been less frequent,
Thai football in the “Believe in Pang” era still has tangible, solid achievements.
On the Asian stage, we hold our own without shame!
- Bee Bangpakong -