Thailand national team fires coach Masatada Ishii

After the meeting held today (October 21), the FAT technical executive board including Dr. Charnwit Polcheewin (Vice President of FAT), Mr. Piyapong Pue-on and General Secretary Ekaphol Polnavee directly announced the termination of the contract with coach Masatada Ishii.

According to FAT, the reason for the breakup was because "the working direction and team development strategy were no longer suitable", even though coach Masatada Ishii brought many positive changes to the "War Elephants".

Đội tuyển Thái Lan sa thải HLV Masatada Ishii - 1 — FAT terminates contract with Masatada Ishii (Photo: FAT).

Since his appointment in December 2023, Coach Ishii has led the Thai team to a total of 30 matches, winning 16, achieving a winning rate of about 53%. However, the recent playing style and results have not convinced experts as well as the FAT leadership.

Notably, at the AFF Cup 2024, the Thai team only finished second after losing to the Vietnamese team in both the first and second leg of the finals. The Golden Temple team also stopped in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, and did not have a good record in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying round.

In Group D, Thailand is currently second in the table with the same number of points as Turkmenistan but with a worse head-to-head record. In October, Thailand won both matches against Taiwan (China).

Currently, FAT has not announced the identity of the new head coach but they said they will decide before the FIFA Days series in November this year.

As expected, the new head coach will debut in the Thailand national team's friendly match against Singapore at home on November 13, then face Sri Lanka away in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on November 18.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/doi-tuyen-thai-lan-sa-thai-hlv-masatada-ishii-20251021160055340.htm