Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul clearly pointed out the positives of Thailand's under-23 national team, despite not achieving their goals in the Asian Championship.
On 16 Jan 2026 GMT+7, the "War Elephants", Thailand's under-23 national team, returned to Thailand after completing their mission in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup final round. The Thailand U-23 team played three matches: a 1-2 loss to Australia, a 1-1 draw with Iraq, and a 0-0 draw with China.
Upon arrival, Coach Wang Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul, head coach of Thailand U-23, said, "Our goal was to reach at least the quarterfinals, but we could not meet that target. However, one positive from this tournament is that many of the young players showed their potential; they performed well at the Asian level. I believe these players will be key contributors to the senior national team in the future."
"We focused deeply on this tournament. Now that we're back, we need to summarize our performance with the Football Association and technical staff, explaining what we've achieved from the first camp in Indonesia through to Saudi Arabia, assessing how much success we've had."
"We will also discuss with the association's executives and technical staff. I believe they have identified various issues during this tournament. We have gained experience in team preparation, selecting players appropriately, and organizing league and national team schedules so players can perform for both club and country without overlap."
"I see this experience as a mix of gains and losses. Many players have been through several camps, and this group offers good potential. They provide more options for future national teams, broadening the selection pool." Meanwhile, the Thailand U-23 coaching staff will hold a meeting to review all results and submit the entire data set to the Football Association's technical department.