Nualphan confident in U23 squad's preparation

Nualphan confident in U23 squad's preparation

Thailand's U23 players at Suvarnabhumi airport before leaving for Qatar on Friday. (Photo supplied)
Thailand's U23 players at Suvarnabhumi airport before leaving for Qatar on Friday. (Photo supplied)

Thailand's U23 team left for Qatar on Friday to participate in the AFC U23 Asian Cup.

The tournament, which will run from April 15 to May 3, will select three and a half teams to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games 2024 in July.

Thailand are in Group C along with title-holders Saudi Arabia, former champions Iraq and Tajikistan.

They will begin their campaign against Iraq on Tuesday.

Senior men's team coach Masatada Ishii was also due to join the team in Qatar.

"The team had some problems during their preparation due to scheduling conflict with the domestic leagues but I believe we've got the best possible squad for the tournament," said Thai football chief Nualphan Lamsam.

"I would also like to thank all the clubs for their cooperation and I assure you that we understand their situation very well.

"Coach Masatada Ishii will fly out to be with the team in Qatar. So our preparation should be more detailed especially in scouting our opponents.

"He will also help U23 coach Issara Sritaro in conducting training and hopefully we could go very far in this tournament," she added.

The 2024 edition will be Thailand's fifth successive participation in the Finals. The young War Elephants reached the quarter-finals as host in 2020 before losing 1-0 to Saudi Arabia.

All of Thailand's matches will be shown live on TrueSport 2 at 10.30pm.

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