Thai media: "Vietnam U23 team has changed Thai football."

Coach Worrawoot Srimaka (left) has returned to lead the Thailand U23 team, replacing Bulgarian coach Zoran Jankovic.

According to Siam Sport, the assertion that "Vietnamese or Malaysian football will take a long time to catch up with Thailand" has now been officially answered. This is because the U23 Thai team, despite being the "big brother" of Southeast Asia, suffered a bitter defeat in the group stage of the recent U23 Asian Championship. Meanwhile, U23 Malaysia shocked Saudi Arabia to reach the quarterfinals and played on equal footing with U23 South Korea, while U23 Vietnam earned the admiration of the entire Asian football community with their miraculous journey to the final after overcoming formidable opponents such as Australia, Iraq, and Qatar.

"The rise of Vietnamese and Malaysian football is not just at the youth level, but also at the national team level, having undergone a long preparation process, based on years of investment in youth football in these countries. Vietnamese youth football has participated in the U.20 World Cup, while Thailand hasn't yet – let's not forget that," commented Siam Sport, adding:

"Meanwhile, Thai football has become overly confident to the point of complacency, thinking that simply fielding a moderately strong team is enough to win regional tournaments (like last year's SEA Games), thus failing to fully assess the dynamics of regional football. The FAT's hasty decision to hand over all national teams, from the senior team to the youth teams, to foreign coaches is also a mistake, as it overlooks the continuity and contributions of Thai coaches."

The shock of being eliminated early in the U.23 Asian Championship and witnessing regional rivals like Vietnam U.23 and Malaysia cause upsets in Thailand. They used the playing style and fighting spirit of the Vietnamese U.23 team as examples to criticize the FAT's overconfidence and underestimation of the opponent, as they had neglected the youth teams of Thai football.

Over the past week, FAT president Somyot Poompanmoung has had to convene meetings to analyze the failure of Thai football at the U.23 Asian Championship and reassess the strength of regional rivals.

Somyot Poompanmoung has decided to replace a number of head coaches for the youth teams from U.23 downwards, except for the national team, which remains under the experienced coach Milovan Rajevac. The U.23 Thailand team has been reinstated under coach Worrawoot Srimaka (who led the team to victory at the 2017 SEA Games).

Furthermore, the youth teams from U.21 to U.17 are no longer directly managed by coaches from Ekkono, a company that collaborated with FAT to transfer youth football training technology. Instead, FAT will have Coach Srimaka, in addition to leading the U.23 team, also manage the U.21 team, while the U.19 and U.17 teams will be handed over to other Thai coaches.

Siam Sport argues that this change is logical and necessary, as Thai coaches understand young Thai players better than foreign coaches and can help them progress faster. Except for the Thai national team, which has many players with international experience, the upcoming U23 Thai team must change to become truly strong in order to aim for the 2020 Olympics.

Furthermore, Siam Sport also urged the FAT to prioritize the two Asian youth tournaments in 2018: the U.19 finals in Indonesia and the U.16 finals in Malaysia. Another failure would certainly necessitate a radical overhaul of Thai youth football.