Analysis of the Thai national football team before their away match against the Chinese national football team in a FIFA Day friendly, discussing whether new players should be tested in this match.
On 8 June 2026, an analysis of the “War Elephants,” Thailand’s national football team, led by English head coach Anthony Hudson, before their away match against the “Dragon Warriors,” China’s national football team, at Jinzhou Sports Center Stadium. This is the second FIFA Day friendly match in June, featured in Thairath Sport's "Clear the Sidelines" program hosted by “Jay” Worapat Arunpakdee, with special guests including football guru “Bubble” Yingrak Raksuwan and former Thai national midfielder “Camp” Sarawatch Desmit sharing their insights.
“Bubble” Yingrak Raksuwan commented after the recent 2-2 draw with Kuwait last Friday, focusing on the eleven substitutions made: “Regarding the eleven substitutions, in the next game against China, that kind of variable probably won’t happen again. You can make many changes, but it shouldn’t be in a game where you aim for results. Football is about winning, but making that many substitutions might not work well. As for whether Anthony Hudson called players to please anyone, if you saw when he appeared on 'Clear the Sidelines,' he said he wouldn’t repeat that he selects players 100% himself. I don’t think he calls certain players just to please anyone.”
Meanwhile, “Camp” Sarawatch Desmit, former Thai national midfielder, said: “If the last game had ended 2-0 or a 2-1 win, I believe everyone would have played against China. But since we didn’t win, it disrupted the plan. If I were the coach, I’d be stressed and probably sleepless. For the match against China, the best players must be selected to regain fans' trust and strengthen their own positions. When the team wins, everything else goes smoothly.”
“Regarding the upcoming game against China, I expect the approach to be similar, both in terms of formations and player substitutions, but with more focus on certain details. If any experiments are to be made during this friendly period, they will likely continue, based on the current player pool, possibly to make up for last match’s shortcomings.”