Bangkok, The Thai national team took the lead but lost 1-2 to China in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, Asian zone, first match. Mano Polking, coach of the War Elephants national team. Accept that the results are not as expected. But I believe Thailand still has a chance to advance to the next round.
2026 World Cup qualifying round, Asia Zone, Round 2, Group C, first match, Thailand national team, ranked 112th in the world, in blue uniform. Open home against China, ranked 79th, at Rajamangala Stadium. There were 35,009 football fans who came to watch this game.
Mano Polking, head coach of the Thai national team, placed the first 11 players with Theerathon Bunmathan, the captain of the team, standing at left-back, while the offensive line had Supachok Sarachat, Bodin Phala, Chanathip Songkrasin. The target striker uses Suphanat as his grandfather. The Chinese side comes in a light green shirt, led by Wu Lei, a 31-year-old striker from Shanghai Port, the most recent league champion team. In the league, they are the second top scorers with 18 goals. Early on, the War Elephants were better at connecting with the ball. Until the 23rd minute, Thailand took the lead. From the moment of attack, Supachoke Sarachat returned the ball to Sarach Yooyen, who shot from far with his left, giving the Thai team a lead of 1. -0 After that, China began to attack better. In the 30th minute, they scored an equalizing goal when Wei Shihao intercepted the ball before dribbling it open for Wu Lei, China's skilled striker, to charge in. The first half ended tied at 1. -1
In the second half, the game was still close, but it was China who took the lead again. There was no shortage of blocking moments from the Thai defenders. The ball dropped to Wang Shangyuan, who scored a goal that gave China a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute. After that, Thailand tried to attack hard. But couldn't get the goal back. The game ended. The Thai national team lost 1-2 to China. The next match in Group C will travel to Singapore on November 21.
After the game, Mano Polking, head coach of the Thai national team Revealed in a press release that Sad that the results of the competition were not as expected. However, losing to China this time The team is not panicking, with 4 more days to play in the second match against Singapore, it is believed that the opportunity is not yet over. We will do better than this game. I believe there is still a chance to win. and advance to the next round
On the side, Alexandra Jankovic, China's coach, confirmed that he was satisfied with the players' performance. And it was a very important victory. Especially when visiting the Thai national team. However, after this China must play consistently. Because the path is still long. Opportunities are still open for all teams.
Meanwhile, Sarach Yooyen, who scored for Thailand in this game, said he regretted missing an easy moment and the first goal was his own mistake as well. As for the game with Singapore, you have to collect 3 points.
Ekanit Panya, forward for the Thai national team Said after the game that It's a difficult game. How bad are the results? Next match against Singapore, must collect 3 points.
Summary of the score table in Group C Another result from South Korea The home win over Singapore 5-0 puts South Korea in the lead with 3 points, level with China, but goal difference is better. Thailand is in 3rd place with no points.
The next match schedule for the Thai national team in the 2026 World Cup, Asia Zone, Qualifying Round 2, Group C, match 2, will visit Singapore on November 21 at 7:00 p.m. Thailand time.
Source: Thai News Agency