The Indian men’s football team will take on Thailand in an international friendly in Khlong Nueng, Rangsit on Wednesday as a preparation for their AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Hong Kong on June 10.

India and Thailand will face each other for the first time in six years, with the two countries having a long history in international football.

Ahead of this tie, we take a closer look at the Thailand football team.

History

Thailand played their first international match in 1948, losing 1-6 to China. Their first appearance at a major footballing event was the 1956 Olympics where they suffered their heaviest defeat to date against Great Britain (9-0). Another appearance in the Olympics in 1968 saw them lose all three group games and Thailand haven’t appeared in the Games since.

Changsuek have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but have been fairly regular in the AFC Asian Cup. Their best performance in the Asian footballing showpiece was a third-place finish in 1972 when they hosted the tournament.

They have qualified for the AFC Asian Cup on eight occasions, appearing in the last two editions. Thailand managed to reach the knockout stage of the competition in each of these editions, bowing out at the Round of 16 stage.

Thailand have won the ASEAN championship on seven occasions, finishing as runners-up in the last edition in 2024 where they lost to Vietnam in the finals.

FIFA Ranking

Thailand are 99th in the FIFA rankings, 28 places above India who sit at 127th in FIFA’s charts.

Changsuek returned to the top 100 in December 2024 after 14 years and will look to stay there as they take on the Blue Tigers. Thailand achieved their highest FIFA ranking of 43 in 1998. Their ranking slumped 2004 onwards before reaching an all-time low of 165 in 2014.

Form Guide: WLLWW

Thailand have been in decent form of late, winning three of their last five games. They beat Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in their last two matches in March, with the latter being an AFC Asian Cup qualifier. Both their recent defeats came at the hands of Vietnam in the ASEAN Championship final.

Changsuek have been very strong at home of late, having won seven of their last ten home matches with just one defeat.

Head-to-Head record

India and Thailand have faced each other on 26 occasions, with Thailand emerging victorious on 12 occasions while India have come out on top seven times. The remaining seven matches have ended in draws.

The Blue Tigers have won the last two meetings against Thailand, which includes the famous 4-1 win over their Southeast Asian rivals in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The other win came in the same year as India edged past Thailand 1-0 in the King’s Cup in Thailand.

Thailand have won three out of the other four matches between the two teams this century, with the other one finishing all square.

Formation

Masatada Ishii’s Thailand are characterised by swift swapping and interchanging of positions on the field, especially in the attacking third, which makes it very complicated for the opponents to keep a tab on their attackers.

Ishii has used the 4-4-2 formation as a base to create variations in and out of possession and his time as Thailand head coach has reflected an evolution of that process.

Key Players

Ishii is rebuilding the Thailand squad for the future with many players in the team who have only been called up to the national team in recent games.

Midfielder Supachok Suparat and defender Sasalak Haiprakhon have been called up ahead of the match against India.

All eyes will be on captain and midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin, who is the most experienced player with 70 caps, forward Supachai Chaided, Swedish-born defender Elias Dolah, midfielder Ben Davis, who has three goals in just six caps, and Italy-born defender Marco Ballini, with a towering height of two metres.

Midfielder Jaroensak Wonggorn (Cerezo Osaka in the Japanese top tier), midfielder Ekanit Panya (Ehime FC in the Japanese second tier) and defender Elias Dolah (Bali United in the Indonesian top tier) are the ones that ply their trade outside Thailand.

Match Details

Fixture: Thailand vs India

Date: June 4, 2025

Time: 6:00 PM IST

Venue: Thammasat Stadium, Rangsit

Live Streaming: FanCode