Thailand's Serious Threat In The 2025 AFF U-23 Cup Semifinals: We Want To Win

Thailand U-23 has ambitions to beat Indonesia U-23 to go to the 2025 AFF U-23 Cup final (Instagram/@changsuek).

JAKARTA - Thailand U-23 coach, Thawatchai Damrong Ongtrakul, gave a serious threat to the U-23 Indonesian national team ahead of the 2025 AFF U-23 Cup semifinals. The coach emphasized that the War Elephant Squad wanted to win this tournament under any conditions.

In the semifinals, four teams namely Thailand U-23, Indonesia U-23, the Philippines U-23, and Vietnam U-23 will clash at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, on Friday, July 24, 2025.

Thailand will face the U-23 Indonesian national team in the second match which will be held at 20.00 WIB.

Regarding this match, Thawatchai Damrong Ongtrakul emphasized that his team must perform optimally in the match, they don't care even though they have to meet the U-23 Indonesian national team with the status of the host.

"Of course, that's something we all know about teamwork. We all know that. However, we have to remember that we are a team."

"It doesn't matter who our opponents are in the semifinals, the important thing is that we continue to play as a team. We want to be the best team," Ongtrakul said in a statement quoted on Thursday, July 24, 2025.

The coach further emphasized that the current focus is on managing the mentality of his players and recovering for maximum performance.

"So, we have to change our mentality, focus on recovery and be the best team."

"We've talked a lot about tournaments. Today is the main day of the tournament, but what should we do? We know since yesterday that if we qualify as group winners, we will face Indonesia U-23. Our target is indeed Indonesia U-23," said Ongtrakul.

Ongtrakul also emphasized that his team did not want to stop in the semifinals because Thailand wanted to become a champion.

Therefore, any conditions will be faced by the War Elephant Squad for the main target of winning.

"We've been here since the start of the tournament and want to keep going. I think this is a good thing. I believe, if we want to win, we have to get through Indonesia U-23."

"Tekanan adalah hal yang lain. Yang paling penting adalah kami melihat ke dalam diri kami sendiri. Jika kita ingin menjadi juara, kami harus siap bermain di kondisi apa pun," tutur Ongtrakul.