Thailand's bid for a place in the AFC U23 Championship quarter-finals came to an end last night when they suffered their second straight loss in the tournament, losing 1-0 to defending champions Japan in Jiangning, China.
The final scoreline belies the Japanese domination of the War Elephants in the second Group B game.
The result has left Thailand riveted to the bottom of the group table, with no points to their credit.
Japan, who now have six points from two wins in a row, have been assured of a place in the quarter-finals.
Thailand made a few changes to the side which lost 1-0 to North Korea on Wednesday in their first group match, and Noppol Pholkum returned to the starting line-up after serving out a one-match suspension.
The Japanese went into match with three points to their credit after their 1-0 victory over Palestine, also on Wednesday.
Japan were clearly the dominant force in the first half, making inroads at will and firing nine shots at the Thai goal.
The War Elephants had trouble holding on to the ball most of the time and could only enjoy 33 percent possession in the opening 45 minutes of the match.
Thailand had just one scoring opportunity, which was wasted when Phicha Au-tra's shot sailed over the bar.
Apart from that, it all resembled a one-way traffic with the Japanese making forays into the Thai half time and again.
Japan could have scored early in the match but Thai goalkeeper Nont Muangngam warded off a shot by Keita Endo in a spectacular fashion.
Nont came to the rescue of the Thai side once again, this time denying Yugo Tatsuta.
Kou Itakura must have had an earful from Japan U23 team coach Hajime Moriyasu after missing twice from close range.
Nont, after producing his third save in the second half, finally found himself helpless as the Thais conceded the winner three minutes from time.
Kyosuke Tagawa headed a long lob back to Itakura, who finally made amends for his earlier misses with a blistering shot from pointblank range.
Besides Nont's heroics, woodwork also spared the Thais twice after the break, making the loss look somewhat respectable.
Apart from a few exchanges between Chenrop Samphaodi and Phicha, it was a listless performance by the Thai youth team.
Earlier, an adventurous Palestine wasted the opportunity to brighten their chances of making it to the quarter-finals as a second half own goal robbed them of a deserving win over North Korea in the earlier Group B encounter.
The Palestinians were put ahead in the 16th minute by Oday Dabbagh, but the clash ended in a 1-1 stalemate after Mohammed Bassim guided the ball into his own net with only 15 minutes left to the final whistle.