Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul, head coach of Thailand U23, opened up after the team drew with Iraq in the 2026 Asian Championship final match.
On 12 Jan 2026, Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul, head coach of Thailand's under-23 national team, spoke after a 1-1 draw with Iraq in the second group stage match of the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship, Group D, confirming his commitment to lead the team to beat China in the final match for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.
“This match deserves praise for the players' good performance, though we still had mistakes regarding conceding a penalty. We need to improve on that. Securing one point today keeps our goal unchanged, and we still have hope in the final match. Everyone is ready to fight in the last group stage game,” Coach Wang said.
“Today’s game was open and competitive toward the end. We had several chances to score more goals late in the game but couldn't finish. We must commend Iraq’s goalkeeper who made crucial saves. Iraq also had many opportunities, so they deserve praise. Both teams played an entertaining match.”
“In this tournament, our team has many young players, but they have performed beyond expectations. Our strength lies in unity and teamwork. In the first match, even though we were down to ten men, the kids showed great potential. In this match, we were behind first, then equalized and even had chances to win.”
“Our goal is at least to reach the quarterfinals in this tournament. We have faced China before during FIFA Days. China’s players are tall and strong, but as long as there is even a one percent chance, we will give our all.”
Thailand U23’s next match will be against China U23 in the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship group stage, Group D, third match, at Al Shabab Club Stadium, Saudi Arabia, on 14 Jan 2026 at 18:30 Thailand time.
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