Japanese coach Masatada Ishii's last gamble saw Thailand eliminate two veterans at the King's Cup.

Coach Masatada Ishii announced the 23 players of the Thai national team to compete in the King's Cup in September, but shockingly left out two players who have shown impressive performances recently. He is also the last remaining Japanese coach of Thai football.

King's Cup is the last chance for coach Masatada Ishii to stay with the Thai national team.

The project of "following in the footsteps of Japanese football", appointing Japanese coaches to the Thai national team, including the men's and women's teams, and the country's U.23 men's team (also preparing for the 33rd SEA Games at home), by Madam Pang (female billionaire Nualphan Lamsam), President of FAT (Football Association of Thailand), has so far been considered unsuccessful.

The Thai team must win the King's Cup, otherwise coach Masatada Ishii faces the risk of being fired.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

FAT has successively fired Japanese coaches, including Takayuki Nishigaya of the U.23 men's team, and Futoshi Ikeda of the women's team, due to the continuous decline in results. Currently, only coach Masatada Ishii of the Thai national team remains. In the Thai League 1 (Thai National Championship) season 2025 - 2026, there are no more Japanese coaches leading the clubs.

According to Siamsport , coach Masatada Ishii's position in the national team is also currently shaky, especially after the "War Elephants" suffered a shock 1-3 loss to Turkmenistan in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, facing the possibility of losing their ticket to the finals.

The 51st King's Cup, which will take place in early September, is the last chance for the 58-year-old coach to regain trust and stay in the Thai team.

Coach Masatada Ishii has just made a shocking decision to drop two veterans, including veteran striker Teerasil Dangda and defender Theerathon Bunmathan, despite their impressive performances at the club recently, Siamsport reported. Teerasil Dangda, 37, is playing for Bangkok United, opening his goal account in the first match of the new season. Meanwhile, Theerathon Bunmathan, 35, is still an indispensable pillar of Buriram United.

Instead, coach Masatada Ishii recalled key midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin, the player who just caused a stir with a spectacular double goal to help BG Pathum United beat CAHN (Vietnam) 2-1 in the group stage of the ASEAN Club Championship on August 20.

In addition, "War Elephants" also called back stars from abroad including defender Nicholas Mikkelson who is playing in Bundesliga 2 (Germany) and Supachok Sarachat and Prames Ajwilai from Japan's J-League 2.

In addition, there was a big surprise when coach Masatada Ishii called up 33-year-old defender Natthaphong Sairiya of Chonburi FC, who will be called up to the Thai national team for the first time. Similarly, Thitiphan Puangchan, midfielder of True Bangkok United, returned after more than 2 years of absence.

At the King's Cup, the Thai team will start with a match against Fiji (ranked 150th in the world ) on September 4. If they win, they will advance to the final against Iraq (ranked 58th in the world) or Hong Kong (ranked 147th in the world) on September 7 to compete for the championship. All matches at this year's King's Cup will be held in Kanchanaburi province (Thailand).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canh-bac-cuoi-cua-hlv-nhat-ban-masatada-ishii-thai-lan-loai-2-cong-than-tai-kings-cup-185250827103412017.htm