Thailand's national team failed to break the 'curse', watching Iraq lift the King's Cup trophy.

Despite their best efforts, the Thai national team could not pull off an upset, suffering a 0-1 defeat against Iraq in the King's Cup 2025 final, held on the evening of September 7th.

Having defeated weaker opponent Fiji 3-0 in the semi-finals, the Thai national team created a "dream" final for the 2025 King's Cup against Iraq. More than ever, defeating a strong opponent from West Asia and winning the traditional tournament could not be the best way for coach Masatada Ishii and his team to regain the trust of their fans.

However, the Iraqi team is not an easy opponent, being 44 places higher than Thailand in the FIFA rankings. In the past 17 years, the Thai team has faced Iraq five times and has never won. Therefore, one day before the final match, Siamsport predicted that the Thai players would have to give more than 100% effort and could not afford any mistakes if they wanted to break the "curse".

Thai media predicts that coach Masatada Ishii and his team will face many difficulties against the strength of the Iraqi national team.

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Coach Masatada Ishii's determination to win the championship was evident as he fielded almost the strongest possible lineup for the current Thai national team. In defense, goalkeeper Patiwat and defenders Suphanan, Nattapong, and Mickelson were included. Meanwhile, in attack, highly anticipated players like Supachok, Ben Davis, and Supachai also started from the beginning.

However, in the first half, the Thai team did not play well, being pressured by Iraq right from the opening whistle. It was only in the final minutes of the half that the Thai team launched an attack. Even so, Supachok and his teammates only had 4 shots (1 on target), unable to trouble the Iraqi defense.

On the other side of the pitch, the Iraqi team pushed forward in attack and at times controlled the ball up to 70%. Coach Graham Arnold's team used many long balls, making it difficult for the Thai defense to cope. After the first 45 minutes, Iraq had 9 shots on goal and only luck combined with the excellent performance of goalkeeper Patiwat allowed the Thai team to secure a 0-0 draw.

The Thai team struggled to defend against Iraq's aerial attacks.

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Iraq scored but then received two red cards, yet Thailand still couldn't equalize.

After the break, the Thai team made several changes, with their most anticipated star, Chanathip Songkrasin, coming on. From then on, the home team's play became more cohesive, creating many dangerous attacking situations. In the 65th minute, Chanathip Songkrasin made a delicate backheel pass, creating a clear opportunity for Jaroensak to run in and shoot into the net against Iraq. Unfortunately, VAR intervened, determining Jaroensak was offside and disallowing the goal.

Having narrowly avoided defeat, the Iraqi team quickly regrouped and launched an attack. In the 75th minute, Mohanad Ali scored with a beautiful header, completely beating goalkeeper Patiwat and opening the scoring for Iraq. However, just two minutes after this goal, Iraq were reduced to 10 men when defender Frans Putros fouled Supachok and received a red card.

Playing with a man advantage for the final 15 minutes, the Thai team pushed forward in attack. Coach Masatada Ishii's players employed a variety of tactics to threaten the Iraqi goal. Despite having seven more shots on goal and continuing to play with a man advantage after Mohanad Ali received a red card (90+5th minute), the Thai team failed to score against Iraq, ultimately losing the match 0-1.

Chanathip Songkrasin (center) came on as a substitute and played outstandingly, but it wasn't enough to help the Thai national team defeat Iraq.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

Iraq defeated Thailand 1-0 to win the 2025 King's Cup. The West Asian team also received a cash prize of 2 million baht (over 1.6 billion VND). Notably, this marks the first time in King's Cup history that a cash prize has been awarded to the champion. Meanwhile, the Thai team failed to break their "curse" of drawing or losing against Iraq in all six encounters since 2008. The Thai team finished second, receiving 1 million baht in prize money (over 800 million VND).

In the earlier match, the Hong Kong team secured an 8-0 victory over Fiji to claim third place in the 2025 King's Cup.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-thai-lan-khong-the-giai-loi-nguyen-nhin-iraq-dang-quang-kings-cup-185250907210049707.htm