Depending on the current situation, Masataka Ishii may choose Supachai as the main center forward and then pair him with Songkrasin, even though Dangda has rejoined the team. Even though Supachai plays for the Belgian side Ruben, more often than not he is seen as a secondary option.
However, on the evening of the 26th, during Pathum United's home match against Trojans, Songkrasin suffered an injury while scrambling with an opponent's defender at the very beginning of the second half, and was subsequently substituted with what was reported to be a groin injury. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to participate in the training and matches of the Thai team.
② There are two right backs to replace Michaelson.
Aside from the reintroduction of Songkrasin and Dangda to the squad, another focal point in the Thai lineup is the right back selection. Against China last November, Thailand brought in naturalized Norwegian player Niclas Mikkelsen due to injury, but he was unable to play. Mikkelsen then returned to help out in the Asian Cup in January and against South Korea in March, where he performed well. However, an unfortunate injury sustained while playing in the Danish league recently will keep him out of action for at least a month and a half. As a result, fans in both Thailand and China are interested in who will replace Mikkelsen.
(Mickelson was unable to attend the game.)
The roster announced by Masataka Ishii did not feature any newcomers at right back, instead opting to keep the two right backs who have been in the squad. These two right backs are Suphanan from Thai Port and Santipa from Pathum United. These two players have played for Thailand in the Asian Cup and against South Korea in the No. 21 and No. 2 jerseys, respectively, with Supanan having had experience as a substitute. Masataka Ishii clearly has a replacement in mind and believes that Michaelson's absence will not have an impact on Thailand's right side of the attack and defense. However, Santipa has not made many appearances for Pathum United, and there are questions in Thailand about his ability to be consistently selected.
More than that, by looking at the 27-man roster, Thailand chose only 7 players for the backline defense, with more resources being used in the midfield and frontline, especially with more attacking midfielders. This may indicate that Thailand came to challenge China not just for 1 point, but to fight for the win with all their might. It's a change worth watching.
However, at the right back position, Masatada Ishii did not add more players to the squad as Sasara, who plays for Buriram United, is capable of playing as a right and left back and can fill in in case of emergency. But just yesterday's match, Sasara suffered a muscle injury in his left thigh and was rushed to the hospital for examination. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to participate in the national team training.
3 Returnees and 8 New Faces
There have been some changes to the Thai roster based on the overall personnel situation. Compared to last November's home match against China in Bangkok, Masatada Ishii kept only 16 from the then 26-man squad, including right-back Tristan Doo, No. 19, who had three debutants in the tournament, and midfielders Pansa Hemvibong, No. 14, and Pokkao Annan, No. 21, who were not selected. Masatoshi Ishii also left only 17 players compared to the 26-man squad at the Asian Cup in January, and eliminated five from the 23-man squad that played against South Korea in March.
Despite the considerable changes in the lineup, there has been basically no change in his preferred starters since Masatada Ishii took over, with only Mikkelsen and others having to be dropped due to injury. In addition, Masatada Ishii is relatively opinionated, such as announcing that he would not call up midfielder Panya, who was playing for Urawa Red Diamonds, before Japan's warm-up match on January 1 of this year. Although Panya had already performed in club matches, Masatada Ishii was adamant that he would no longer be considered.
It is worth noting that eight of the players in this 27-man squad have been called up to the Thai team for the first time, something that was the case when Masataka Ishii was in charge, including the rejoining Dangda. Among them, four players have been selected for the national team for the first time, namely goalkeeper Songbang from Thai Port, midfielder Akkarapong and striker Anan from Namphun Warriors, and midfielder Irfan from Uthai Thani. Of particular note is the somewhat surprising inclusion of both Akkarapong and Irfan, with the former having played in all 33 rounds of the 2023-24 season, scoring 10 goals, and the latter scoring three goals in 27 appearances.
Therefore, according to Masatada Ishii's selection, Thailand's defenders' insertion into the attack may need to be more carefully guarded by the Chinese team. Just like in the away match in Bangkok last November, the goal scored by Thailand came from a midfielder's inserted shot.
In terms of overseas players, Masatada Ishii chose to call up only three players. In addition to Belgium's striker Suparna, there is attacking midfielder Supa Touch of Japan's Sapporo and center back Doro of the Indonesian league.
Based on the distribution of domestic clubs, among the 27 players this time around, Thai Harbour became the club with the most players, with six players selected; Pathum United ranked second, with five players; Buriram United, who have already won the title ahead of schedule, had four players; Bangkok United, who managed to make it to the last 16 of the AFC Champions League, had only three players; and Muangthong United and Namphun Warriors had two players each; Chiang Rai United and Uthai Thani have one player each.
However, in the midfield, No.11 Bodin, who represents Thai Port, was replaced by Chonburi captain Channarong due to an injury after the list was announced, while midfielder Wirathit, who plays for Bangkok United, was also injured in yesterday's final round of the league, and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to take part in the Thai team's training at this point in time.
According to the schedule, the Thai national team will start training on May 29th. After four days of training, the team is scheduled to take a special flight to Shenyang on June 2 to begin preparations for the final sprint for the June 6 match against China.
