Thailand unexpectedly calls 'elbow king' back to the national team

Thai media said new head coach Anthony Hudson will make a surprise personnel decision when calling up the team for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers taking place in mid-November.

Bunmathan will be called back to the Thai national team - Photo: FAT

"3 veteran stars will be recalled to the national team," Thairath newspaper headlined, saying that coach Hudson will make a surprising decision for the Thai team's personnel in the near future.

These three names are Teerasil Dangda, Theerathon Bunmathan and Sarach Yooyen. All three are stars over 33 years old, belonging to the "golden generation" of Thai football many years ago.

The youngest of these is Yooyen, 33 years old, while Bunmathan is 35 years old, and Dangda is even 37 years old.

All three players have not played for the Thai national team for over a year. Although the Thai football community has repeatedly called for their return, former coach Masatada Ishii still ignored all three during the training sessions in September and October.

It is not impossible that this is the reason why Mr. Ishii was fired by the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), as some members of FAT also want the veterans to return.

However, calling all three players back at the same time still created controversy in Thai football, because all three have declined in form due to age.

Dangda - who scored 64 goals for the Thai national team and more than 300 goals in his career - has only scored 4 goals in the past year. Yooyen is also not as consistent as before.

Meanwhile, Bunmathan has always caused controversy over his playing attitude. The star midfielder of Buriram is famous for his dirty and dirty playing style. The regional football community even calls him the "elbow king" because he often elbows his opponents.

However, it is undeniable that the experience and class of this veteran squad is superior to the current generation of Thai players.

Thailand is currently having a hard time in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying race. They have the same number of points as Turkmenistan, but have a worse head-to-head record, so they are currently ranked 2nd in Group D, and are only 3 points ahead of Sri Lanka.

In the mid-November match, Thailand will face Sri Lanka in a "life and death" match that will decide the only ticket in the group.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thai-lan-bat-ngo-goi-vua-cui-cho-tro-lai-doi-tuyen-20251103180335382.htm