Thailand's National Team Holds Emergency Meeting, European Coach Adopts World Cup Model

Coach Anthony Hudson, who played a key role in creating the winning approach for the US team at the 2022 World Cup, is confident in using this system to secure Thailand's spot in the Asian Cup.

Head coach of Thailand’s national team, Anthony Hudson spoke after a meeting with the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) about preparations during the March FIFA Days, including a crucial home match against Turkmenistan in the final group stage of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on March 31.

According to Siam Sports, the English strategist stated: “The meeting with the U23 team was to discuss player selection, as both the Thailand senior and U23 teams have fixtures during FIFA Days and may share some players. More importantly, it was about aligning direction and philosophy so both teams move forward cohesively. Cooperation between the two national squads is normal to maximize benefits for both.”

Regarding upcoming preparations, Hudson emphasized: “My plan is to work hard studying Turkmenistan thoroughly — their football culture, playing style, player characteristics, and clubs in their domestic league — so our team understands the opponent as well as possible before the match.”

“Over the next five weeks, each week will focus on a specific topic with tasks assigned to coaching staff members to find the best solutions. Everyone knows this is an extremely important match and our sole objective is to beat Turkmenistan to qualify for the Asian Cup finals.”

Regarding the absence of friendly games during this training period, Hudson assured it is not an issue: “As everyone knows, we will not have any friendlies this time. For me, this is nothing new. We will maximize simulated opponent training exercises, just like I did with the US team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Back then, they also had few friendlies but still performed well in the group stage, finishing second and advancing to the knockout round.”

He also highlighted lessons learned from the recent November FIFA Days : “Another important factor is the number of training days. From our experience in November, when we played a friendly against Singapore before traveling to Sri Lanka, many issues arose such as recovery and travel, leaving us with only about 2-3 tactical training sessions. This time, we aim to have more time to implement tactics and prepare the team fully for this crucial match.”