Madam Pang shocked everyone by firing coach Ishii even though Thailand regained the chance to participate in the 2027 Asian Cup.

On the afternoon of October 21, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) surprised everyone when it announced the decision to fire coach Masatada Ishii, even though this coach had just helped the 'War Elephants' regain the opportunity to participate in the 2027 Asian Cup.

The reign of Japanese coaches in Thailand ends

According to FAT, the reason for the decision to fire coach Ishii was due to "lack of strategic consistency", although the 58-year-old Japanese coach had a 53% winning rate during his time leading the Thai team from December 2023 to the matches last October. A total of 30 matches, with 16 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses.

Madam Pang (billionaire Nualphan Lamsam), President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), was dissatisfied with some decisions of Coach Ishii at the AFF Cup 2024.

Photo: Screenshot

Coach Ishii’s dismissal also marks the end of the reign of Japanese coaches with the Thai national teams. Previously, FAT had successively fired Japanese coaches, including Takayuki Nishigaya of the men’s U.23 team, and Futoshi Ikeda of the women’s team, due to continuous decline in results.

The Thai team has also regained the opportunity to directly qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup finals, after beating Taiwan two consecutive matches with scores of 2-0 and 6-1. The "War Elephants" are currently leading Group D with the same points as Turkmenistan (both 9 points) and will decide their chance to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup when the two teams meet in Bangkok on March 31, 2026.

Thanks to these achievements, the Thai team also advanced strongly in the October FIFA rankings by 5 places to 96th in the world . Thereby, maintaining the No. 1 position in Southeast Asia, 15 places higher than the 2nd ranked Vietnam team.

However, FAT finally decided to fire coach Ishii, after many previous disagreements related to "strategy", in which this coach pursued the view of rejuvenating the Thai team. But other federation officials wanted to focus on making the best use of all resources, including the need to summon veteran stars such as striker Teerasil Dangda and defender Theerathon Bunmathan...

Coach Masatada Ishii in a friendly match between Thailand and Vietnam in September 2024

Photo: Independence

Accordingly, the FAT Technical Executive Committee, headed by Mr. Chanwit Pholchiwin, Vice President of FAT, along with Mr. Piyapong Pue-on and Ekapol Pholnawi as members of the committee, met with Coach Ishii on October 21, before announcing the termination of the contract with the Japanese coach with immediate effect. The FAT announcement also emphasized that Coach Ishii's management style is no longer suitable, as well as the overall performance is not satisfactory.

In addition to a 53% winning record, during coach Ishii's reign, the Thai team only won the King's Cup friendly tournament in 2024, and failed to defend the championship at the AFF Cup 2024 (losing to the Vietnamese team in the final with a final score of 3-5).

"FAT would like to thank coach Masatada Ishii for his dedication and contribution in raising the level of the Thai national team during his tenure. We wish Masatada Ishii and the entire coaching staff success in all their endeavors," said the FAT announcement on October 21.

Also in the announcement, FAT added that the federation's technical department will select and consider a suitable new coach and announce it as soon as possible, before the Thai team plays a friendly match against Singapore (November 13) and against Sri Lanka on November 18 in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/madam-pang-gay-soc-sa-thai-hlv-ishii-du-thai-lan-gianh-lai-co-hoi-du-asian-cup-2027-185251021154716959.htm