Thai women's futsal 'drops' World Cup to compete in... SEA Games?

The heavy loss to Colombia in the final group stage match of the 2026 Women's Futsal World Cup on November 28 forced the Thai women's futsal team to return home early.

Eliminated from the World Cup, the Thai women's futsal team aims for the 33rd SEA Games gold medal - Photo: TNFT

This was a match that the Thai women’s futsal team had to win to qualify for the next round. However, they started off shakily, lost focus and lost 1-4. This result left them in third place in Group B, unable to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Immediately, the whole team left for home just one day later (November 29). Before the tournament, many people predicted that the Thai women's futsal team would have to stop early.

This is because they are in the same group with two teams with better strength, Spain and Colombia. In the tournament, Thailand is only really stronger than Canada.

But there are still many fans who doubt the true motivation of "Chaba Kaew" (nickname of the Thai women's football team).

On a forum with more than 1 million followers, some people commented with suspicion that the women's futsal team wanted to be eliminated early to return home to attend... the SEA Games.

These people argue that the World Cup is a very difficult tournament where almost all the opponents are superior. Therefore, trying their best will only cause the players to lose their physical strength and become easily injured.

Going further would put the Thai team at a disadvantage as the 33rd SEA Games is approaching. Therefore, coach Thanathorn Santanaprasit and his players will only compete at a light, moderate intensity, seeing it as a chance to "make friends" before the SEA Games.

Of course, these doubts are completely unfounded. To reach the World Cup requires a lot of effort.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the coaching staff and players of the Thai women's futsal team will play without determination. Not to mention that they could be investigated for match-fixing or receive some kind of disciplinary action related to their substandard playing attitude.

Their early elimination may simply be due to their limited strength compared to their opponents, not due to any other calculated intention.

Even coach Santanaprasit admitted his regret: "We had planned carefully for this match, it's just a pity that we lost focus at key moments.

Being eliminated from the Futsal World Cup will not affect the 33rd SEA Games. I will give the players a few days off to regain their strength, before focusing on the upcoming tournament at home and winning the gold medal."

Thailand Futsal currently holds the record of being the only team to have won all SEA Games championships in both men's and women's events. However, this year, the country's women's futsal team faces a big challenge after losing to Vietnam in the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/futsal-nu-thai-lan-tha-world-cup-de-dau-sea-games-20251130102453605.htm