All of Southeast Asia is waiting for Thailand to cause a shock at the AFC U20 Championship: A formidable opponent

The 2025 AFC U-20 Championship will be held in China from February 12 to March 1, with 16 teams participating. Southeast Asian football will have two representatives participating, U-20 Indonesia and U-20 Thailand.

After the first two matches, the team from the archipelago country had a losing record in Group C, losing 0-3 to U.20 Iran and 1-3 to U.20 Uzbekistan. U.20 Indonesia was stopped early in the group stage. Thus, the only representative of the Southeast Asian region still hoping to continue at the 2025 AFC U-20 Championship is U.20 Thailand.

Thailand need at least 1 point

In the opening match of the Asian tournament in Group D, U.20 Thailand lost to strong opponent U.20 Japan with a score of 0-3. The "War Elephants" will face another formidable opponent, U.20 Korea, in the second match of Group D, at 4:15 p.m. today (February 17). The team from the land of the golden pagoda needs to create a surprise in this confrontation (at least a draw) to keep their hopes of advancing to the 2025 AFC U-20 Championship alive.

Group D standings after the first round of matches

South Korea is one of the most successful teams in the history of the U.20 Asian Cup. However, the last time the Korean team won the U.20 Asian Cup was in 2012. In the most recent tournament in 2023, South Korea reached the semi-finals (losing to Uzbekistan, the team that later won the championship). In the opening match, U.20 South Korea beat U.20 Syria with a score of 2-1.

Thailand U.20 has a chance to score points against Korea, as youth football is full of surprises. If they can shock the Korean team with a victory, the "war elephants" will have a slight advantage in the final match of Group D. In the decisive match, Thailand U.20 will face a more suitable opponent, Syria U.20, while Korea U.20 will have to face a very strong opponent, Japan U.20.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ca-dong-nam-a-cho-thai-lan-gay-soc-tai-vck-u20-chau-a-doi-thu-rat-khung-185250217090918759.htm