Thai youth football, where is the glory days now?

Thailand is facing a deadlock in youth training.

The Thais have reason to regret their loss to Indonesia in the semi-finals of the recent U23 Southeast Asian tournament. They played quite well, creating many clear scoring opportunities. In fact, Thailand was very close to winning but Indonesia equalized in the final minutes of regular time. After that, Thailand put all their pressure on the team in extra time, creating many clear scoring opportunities but they could not finish. In the end, the team accepted defeat in the penalty shootout. A regrettable defeat when they were not lucky enough.

At many times, a loss like this is not a big concern for a football team. Because youth football always has big variables, stability is often a luxury. On a beautiful day, a stronger team can completely stumble against weaker opponents. But with Thailand, it is very different. The recent defeat is really ringing the alarm bell when falls like this have appeared more frequently with their youth teams.

Thailand is continuing its string of poor days in youth competitions. For the past 8 years, they have not won a single U-team championship. In Southeast Asia, youth tournaments are usually held at 3 levels: U16, U19 and U23/U22, but since 2017, representatives from the land of golden pagodas have not once stepped onto the highest podium.

With a football background that prides itself on being number one in the region, the above details are really hard to believe. But it is true. In the U16 tournament, Thailand has not won a championship for the past 10 years. During this time, Australia and Indonesia have often won the championship.

The U19 Southeast Asian tournament is a power sharing event between Malaysian and Indonesian football. The last time Thailand won the championship was in 2017. Meanwhile, in the U23 Southeast Asian tournament, apart from the championship in the first tournament held exactly 2 decades ago, Thailand only made it as far as the final. The last 2 times the tournament took place, they both stopped at the semi-finals, helplessly watching Vietnam and Indonesia meet in the battle for the throne.

Coming to the most anticipated youth playground, the SEA Games, Thailand is sinking deeper into thirst. Since the 2017 Games, they have not won a single gold medal. Thailand could not get past the group stage in 2019, losing the final in the following 2 consecutive times. This year, they are the host. Thailand considers winning the gold medal a must, but with the U23 team losing 8 of their last 10 matches, it is really too difficult for the Thais to dream.

8 years without a regional youth championship. That is too long a period for a strong football country like Thailand. And in fact, their national team is suffering the consequences of that thirst. Because the current generation of players is really not outstanding. Except for Suphanat, Thailand can hardly find players who reach the level of Chanathip, Bunmathan or Dangda.

The continuous failures of the youth generation have caused Thailand to seriously lack talent and the next generation for the national team, and the failure at the recent ASEAN Cup is the clearest proof. People say that youth football is the launching pad of a football industry. For the land of the golden pagodas, that launching pad is really shaky. If the situation cannot be improved, perhaps their national team will have to suffer the consequences for a long time, unless the Thais find a strong source of naturalized players like Indonesia or Malaysia.

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