Analysis of the Thai national football team before their away match against the Chinese national football team in a FIFA Day friendly, questioning whether they should try new players this time.
On 8 June 2026, an analysis of the “War Elephants,” Thailand’s national football team, led by English head coach Anthony Hudson, ahead of their away game against the “Dragon Warriors,” the Chinese national team, at Jinzhou Sports Center Stadium in the second FIFA Day friendly match of June. This was featured on Thairath Sport’s "Clear the Sidelines" program, hosted by "Jay" Worapat Arunpakdee, with guests "Bubble" Yingrak Raksuwan, a respected football analyst in Thailand, and "Camp" Sanwat Desmit, former Thai national team midfielder, sharing their insights.
“Bubble” Yingrak Raksuwan commented after the recent 2-2 draw with Kuwait last Friday, particularly about the eleven substitutions, saying: “Regarding the eleven changes, in the next game against China, that variable probably won’t be there. While making many substitutions is possible, it shouldn’t happen in a match where the result matters. Football is about results, but making so many changes could be counterproductive. As for whether Anthony Hudson called up players to please anyone, if you saw him on the 'Clear the Sidelines' show, he said he wouldn’t say again that he personally selects players 100%. I don’t think he would call some players just to please anyone.”
Meanwhile, “Camp” Sanwat Desmit, former Thai national team midfielder, stated: “If the previous match had ended 2-0 or 2-1 in our favor, I believe everyone would have played against China. But since we didn’t win, the plan changed. If I were the coach, I’d be stressed and sleepless. For this game against China, I’d have to field the best players to regain fans’ trust and strengthen my own position. When the team wins, everything goes well.”
“For the upcoming game against China, I expect the lineup and substitutions to be similar, but with more emphasis on certain details. If experimentation continues during the friendlies, it should be based on the current player pool to possibly make up for the previous match’s shortcomings.”
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