Thailand's Coach Assesses Vietnam's Strength Ahead of AFF Semifinal

Coach Thidarat Wiwasuku showed strong confidence prior to the Southeast Asian U16 Women's semifinal clash with Vietnam's U16 squad.

After advancing as the best second-placed team among three groups, Thailand's U16 women's team will face Vietnam in the semifinals. Vietnam topped Group B with a perfect record after two matches.

At the pre-match press conference, Thailand U16 women's coach Thidarat Wiwasuku praised Vietnam as a strong team and set the goal to win. “Vietnam is a powerful team, and I believe this will be both an exciting and highly competitive match. We are looking forward to a positive result. I want our young players to showcase their full potential. I hope the Thailand U16 women's team will secure victory tomorrow."

If they reach the final, Thailand's U16 women will face either Australia or Indonesia. Australia is the team that defeated them in the group stage.

“If we meet Australia again in the final, it will be a chance to correct our previous mistakes. If we face Indonesia, it will also be an exciting game since we have never played against them. Regardless of the opponent, they are all very strong", said Coach Thidarat Wiwasuku.

“In the Southeast Asian tournament, the senior women's national team once finished fourth, but at the U19 level, we won the championship in Vietnam. Football is about development. For the senior team, sometimes we treat tournaments as opportunities to gain experience because of many star players. But at every level, we always prepare thoroughly. The key is not to be intimidated by any opponent. This is a competitive arena; we must fight and enjoy the game, while also monitoring the players' progress. That benefits everyone",she added.

“Of course, Australia is currently a very advanced football nation. Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, facing them is like a benchmark of our abilities and provides players with valuable experience for development. Our goal is to reach the World Cup, and to achieve that, we need to compete against strong teams to help our players improve further", Coach Thidarat Wiwasuku concluded.

Also present at the press conference was Phathram Saengta, the team's standout player who scored 4 goals, who commented.

“Tomorrow, I believe it will be an exciting and thrilling match. I think all my teammates are very confident, and we aim to bring the championship home to Thailand. If we face Australia, we want to improve our finishing and defense. If we meet Indonesia, it will also be a great match because we have never played them before, but we will definitely give our best effort."

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