Unbeaten in the group stage without conceding a single goal, the Thai national team received high praise from Asian media.
Thailand national team has won the ticket to continue at Asian Cup 2023 with an unbeaten record and has not even conceded a goal.
Thailand ended the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup with a goalless draw against Saudi Arabia on January 25. They finished second in Group F and will face Uzbekistan in the knockout round.
After the recent match, Thai media highlighted a special achievement of this team. Siam Sports wrote: "The Thai national team is one of two teams that did not concede a goal at the 2023 Asian Cup".
Indeed, after the group stage, only Thailand and host Qatar have not conceded any goals at this year's Asian Cup. Notably, two very strong teams in Asia, Japan and South Korea, have not achieved this feat. These two giants have even conceded 5 and 6 goals respectively after the group stage.
In another development, ESPN Asia published an article praising the Thai national team after their recent performances. The newspaper wrote: "For the first time, Thailand finished the group stage campaign at the AFC Asian Cup without tasting defeat."
"They are also one of two teams, along with hosts and defending champions Qatar, yet to concede a goal in the ongoing Asian football premier tournament."
“Now in the knockout stages, the War Elephants may not necessarily be favourites to win their next game – but they certainly look extremely difficult to beat.”
So after the group stage, Southeast Asia still has 2 representatives to participate in the knockout round: Thailand and Indonesia. The recent performances have helped these two teams move up very quickly in the FIFA rankings.
Thailand are now very close to their goal of reaching the top 100 of FIFA and will do so if they continue to surprise Uzbekistan in the round of 16. They are currently ranked 101st, thereby officially surpassing Vietnam after 6 years and 5 months and returning to the top of Southeast Asia.
