Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: With less than a month to go until the start of the eagerly anticipated AFC U23 Championship, join the-afc.com as we continue our look at the teams who will be vying for honours in Qatar, at a tournament that also doubles as the qualifiers for the men’s football tournament at the 2016 Olympic Games.
THAILAND
Widely regarded as the top team in Southeast Asia, Thailand are now looking to make their mark on the continental scene and will be making their AFC U23 Championship debut in January.
The War Elephants had the advantage of playing on home soil in the qualifiers, but they failed to fire in their opening Group G match.
Coming up against neighbours Cambodia, they needed a 95th-minute winner from Chenrop Samphaodi to claim a narrow 2-1 win, although they then fared better against Philippines as they ran out 5-1 victors.
By then, a top-two finish had been secured but they still had first spot in their sights, however a 0-0 draw against table-topping DPR Korea saw them finish second.
Still, they did enough to book their place in Qatar as the best-placed runners-up.
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