Coach Masatada Ishii was questioned, is there internal instability within the Thai national team before the King's Cup?

According to Siamsport, coach Masatada Ishii is under great pressure after he decided to drop two of Thailand's key players from the King's Cup, captain Theerathon Bunmathan and veteran striker Teerasil Dangda.

Thailand fails to win King's Cup, coach Masatada Ishii will be fired

The Thai national team officially gathered on September 1 to prepare for the 51st King's Cup held in Kanchanaburi province during the FIFA Days in September. However, on the first day of training, coach Masatada Ishii was heavily questioned about why he did not call Theerathon Bunmathan and Teerasil Dangda.

Thailand team (blue shirt) under great pressure before the King's Cup at home

Photo: Ngoc Linh

"Coach Masatada Ishii's decision made Thai fans feel uneasy, they thought the team lacked strength and depth, while Theerathon Bunmathan and Teerasil Dangda are experienced players, still able to contribute enough to help the team regain their inherent confidence, but could not participate because of the coach's decision," Siamsport said.

Under great pressure from Thai fans and press, coach Masatada Ishii did not seem very happy. He once explained the reason for not calling these two veteran players to the team was because he wanted to find new factors to create momentum for the "War Elephants".

But this still does not satisfy Thai fans. In particular, they believe that the experiment with new elements has led to a shocking defeat, the loss to Turkmenistan with a score of 1-3 in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers on June 10. Therefore, if the team fails again or does not perform well at the upcoming King's Cup, coach Masatada Ishii will face a high possibility of being fired, similar to the Japanese coaches of the U.23 team and the women's team recently.

"You have to ask the club. But Theerathon Bunmathan has not played a full match, and his fitness is not ready yet," coach Masatada Ishii responded briefly to questions from the Thai press regarding the case of defender Theerathon Bunmathan.

Theerathon Bunmathan played 2 matches in the 2025-2026 Thai League 1 season and scored 1 goal. But the 35-year-old defender was only brought on in the 90+2 minute in Buriram United's 2-1 win over Chiangrai United. Before that, he played for about 71 minutes in the 3-2 win over Lamphun Warrior FC and scored 1 goal, but left the field due to a minor injury.

"Thai fans still believe that Theerathon Bunmathan is physically fit to play for the Thai national team. However, coach Masatada Ishii may have, for some reason, not necessarily a physical issue, removed this key player from the King's Cup squad. Similarly, Teerasil Dangda, who is playing very well at the beginning of the new season, has not been called up. It is very risky for the Thai national team to have to rely solely on striker Supachai Chaided in attack," Siamsport expressed.

Despite many concerns, coach Masatada Ishii is still confident in the strength of the Thai team and affirmed that they are ready for the opening match against Fiji. He emphasized: "As I always say, I always choose the players who are best prepared at the present time. With competing in many different tournaments, I believe that this team can compete well. Choosing the best players available is an important part."

At the King's Cup, the Thai team will play Fiji (ranked 150th in the world , 48 places below Thailand on the FIFA rankings) on September 4. If they win, they will advance to the final against Iraq (ranked 58th in the world) or Hong Kong (ranked 147th in the world) on September 7 to compete for the championship.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hlv-masatada-ishii-bi-chat-van-noi-bo-doi-tuyen-thai-lan-bat-on-truoc-kings-cup-185250902094035281.htm