U23 Thailand unexpectedly suffered a heavy defeat against China

U23 Thailand was defeated by U23 China with a score of 1-3 in a private friendly match on October 10th.

To prepare for the 33rd SEA Games and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, U23 Thailand held a training camp in Kunming, China during the October FIFA international window. While there, U23 Thailand will play two friendly matches against the host U23 China on October 10th and 14th.

Notably, the match on October 10th between U23 Thailand and U23 China ended quickly with a 3-1 victory for U23 China. This was a closed training match with only the result announced. On October 14th, the two teams will have an official friendly at the Kunming Haigeng Training Center.

Losing to U23 China—a mid-level team in Asia—shows that U23 Thailand still has many areas to improve. In particular, Thailand’s defense was thoroughly exploited by the home team U23 China, who scored with relative ease.

Before the match, Atthaphon Saengthong, right-back of Nakhon Pathom United, expressed his happiness to return to U23 Thailand. He said he did not need many adjustments with his teammates because they were already familiar with each other.

However, Saengthong emphasized the head coach’s tactics, requiring him to adapt to the system as best as possible. He is determined to perform well if given the opportunity.

U23 China is a strong team with many tall players, so he needs to find ways to compete against them. China also qualified for the 2026 AFC U23 Championship just like Thailand, making this a good test for the team.