Despite a bitter elimination in the Southeast Asian tournament, Thailand remains confident in securing a World Cup berth.

Thailand's U17 team was eliminated in the Southeast Asian tournament with only a reserve squad, while their strongest force is aiming to secure a World Cup U17 spot through the Asian tournament in 2026.

The early elimination of Thailand's U17 team in the group stage of the 2026 Southeast Asian U17 Championship created a major shock for regional fans. As one of the top contenders for the championship, the "Young War Elephants" unexpectedly lost to both Laos U17 and Myanmar U17, thus stopping early in surprise among experts. However, contrary to the external surprise, Thai media and public opinion remained quite calm about this result.

The reason lies in the fact that the squad participating in the Southeast Asian tournament was not actually the strongest force of Thai youth football. According to Thai media, most players in the recent tournament were only 15 to 16 years old, considered a reserve team mainly given opportunities to gain experience and compete internationally. The main goal was not immediate results but evaluating capabilities and finding potential talents to supplement the main squad.

Meanwhile, Thailand's U17 team considered the "premium version" is separately focused on preparing for the 2026 Asian U17 Championship – a decisive tournament for the World Cup U17 qualification. This team, led by coach Marco Gockel, gathers 28 quality players from top academies like Buriram United, BG Pathum United, and other strong clubs in the Thai League.

Instead of participating in the Southeast Asian tournament, this core force underwent systematic training at the Dynamic Training Center in Samut Prakan province. Thailand U17 continuously held high-quality friendly matches with strong opponents such as South Korea U17, Indonesia U17, and India U17 to enhance skills before finalizing the 23-player list for the Asian finals in Saudi Arabia.

Thailand's confidence also stems from a very clear goal in the upcoming tournament. In the 2026 Asian U17 Championship finals, which also serves as the World Cup U17 qualifiers, Thailand is in Group A alongside host Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Myanmar. Simply finishing in the top two of the group to reach the quarter-finals, coach Marco Gockel's team will officially secure a berth for the World Cup U17 held in Qatar in November.

Midfielder David Gabert, of Thai-German descent, currently playing for Rot-Weiss Oberhausen, also showed strong determination upon joining the team. He stated the whole team is striving to adapt, aiming to score, assist, and secure a World Cup spot. Clearly, the failure in the Southeast Asian tournament was just a testing step, while the true ambition of Thai youth football remains a much larger stage: the U17 World Cup.

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