Thai football fears losing its regional standing.

Thailand U23 at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship

At the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, the Malaysian U23 team made history as the first Southeast Asian team to advance beyond the group stage, after drawing with Jordan and defeating Saudi Arabia. They were only eliminated after a narrow 1-2 loss to South Korea in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese U23 team achieved even greater success, finishing as runners-up. Coach Park Hang Seo's team successively defeated powerhouses Australia, Iraq, and Qatar, only losing to Uzbekistan in the final.

Meanwhile, Thailand, considered the leading football nation in Southeast Asia, surprised fans with their poor performance. They were the first team to be eliminated from the 2018 AFC U23 Championship with two consecutive defeats, including a heavy 1-5 loss to Palestine, and returned home in humiliation.

Thai football has dominated the region for the past two decades, sweeping almost all the SEA Games and AFF Cup championships. These trophies have long been considered theirs, and in fact, their teams have achieved this "collection" of titles without expending too much effort. However, the immense success of football in the region today is forcing the Thais to take a more objective look at themselves.

Yesterday, the Thai newspaper Siam Sport assessed that the success of the Vietnamese U23 team, and to some extent the Malaysian U23 team, at the Asian U23 Championship has prompted a change in the Thai approach to football. “The rise of Vietnamese and Malaysian football is not just at the youth level, but also at the national team level, demonstrating a long preparation process based on years of investment in youth football in these countries. Vietnamese youth football has participated in the U20 World Cup, while Thailand has not; remember that,” Siam Sport wrote.

According to the same newspaper, Thai football is "overconfident to the point of complacency," failing to fully assess the dynamics of regional football. Furthermore, the Football Association of Thailand's (FAT) hastily handing over all national teams, from the senior team to the youth teams, to foreign coaches is also a major reason for the decline of Thai football.

Coach Jankovic resigned after the defeat of the Thailand U23 team.

Yesterday, coach Zoran Jankovic submitted his resignation as head coach of the Thailand U23 team, after only 7 months in the position. In his resignation letter, the strategist, who holds both Serbian and Bulgarian citizenship, stated his reasons: “It is time for me to leave and hand over the head coach position to someone else. This is not an easy decision, but I have confidence in my decision... The Thailand U23 team is aiming for strong development to conquer major tournaments. At this time, the team needs to overcome this defeat to move forward. I was honored to lead the team and once again, I want to thank them for their time with me.”

Shortly after coach Zoran Jankovic announced his departure from the national team, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) also issued a statement confirming this. According to Thai media, assistant coach Worrawoot Srimaka, who led the U22 Thailand team to victory at the 29th SEA Games, will be appointed as the interim coach of the U23 Thailand team while the FAT searches for a replacement in preparation for the Asian Games in August.