Thailand's coach admits one thing after losing to Indonesia in the AFF final

Coach Phat Srivijit of Thailand's U16 futsal team feels the team fell short in their performance during the Southeast Asia U16 futsal final.

Coach Phat Srivijit of Thailand's U16 futsal team pointed out that Indonesia capitalized on their strengths as planned, resulting in their victory over Thailand in the final and winning the ASEAN U16 Futsal Championship.

The head coach of Thailand’s U16 futsal team gave an interview after the ASEAN U16 Futsal Championship final on December 29, where Thailand’s U16 team was defeated by Indonesia with a score of 3-4, thus securing the runner-up position at the 2025 Southeast Asia U16 futsal championship.

He stated: "We were unable to execute our plan. We must commend Indonesia for their patience, defensive style, and effective counterattacks, which are their strengths. We struggled to prevent goals from their attacking chances; we lacked finishing and ultimately were caught on the counterattack. We had many opportunities, but failing to convert them into goals led to conceding goals."

"Regarding the team’s future, some players have been promoted to play in professional futsal leagues. The others need to gain more experience to develop further. Many of them are only 15 years old, so if there are tournaments next year, they can still participate," the head coach of Thailand’s U16 futsal team said.

Thus, Indonesia became the first team to win the Southeast Asia U16 futsal championship as this was the inaugural edition of the tournament. At the U19 level, the final was also a match between Indonesia and Thailand but this time the winner and champion was Thailand’s U19 futsal team.

This is the first time the Southeast Asian Football Federation has organized futsal tournaments for the U16 and U19 age groups, marking an important milestone for youth futsal in the region. This event opens great opportunities for young players, given that Southeast Asia currently lacks an official platform dedicated solely to youth futsal. Previously, the only youth-level tournament was the AFC U20 Futsal Championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which has been suspended since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has not yet resumed.