Bangkok: Hudson says the Thai national team needs to perform well for fans to come to the stadium. Anthony Hudson, head coach of the Thai national football team, addressed the controversy surrounding low fan attendance, stating that the team must perform at its best and achieve good results to attract more fans to support the team.
According to Thai News Agency, in the ASEAN Football Championship "Hyundai Cup 2026" match at Rajamangala National Stadium yesterday (August 1st), in Group B, Thailand, ranked 94th in the world and seven-time champions, defeated Malaysia, ranked 136th in the world, 2-0. The winning goal came from a penalty kick by Yotsakorn Burapha in the 38th minute.
In the second half, Teerasak scored the second goal in the 56th minute, giving the Thai team a 2-0 victory and 3 points. They now have 6 points from 2 matches and lead the group, while Malaysia is in second place with 6 points from 3 matches.
Anthony Hudson, head coach of the Thai national team, revealed after the game that he was proud of his players. He said they played a good game, but some players were exhausted towards the end and some experienced cramps. Therefore, he needs to work on getting the players fitter.
Regarding the controversy surrounding low attendance at yesterday's Rajamangala Stadium, with only 16,037 spectators out of a capacity of 50,000, Hudson stated that the team needs to perform at its best and achieve good results to attract more fans.
Sarach Yooyen, the team captain and Man of the Match, revealed after the game that teamwork and keeping a clean sheet were the key goals they set before the match. He added that they will try to secure three points in every upcoming game.
Yosakorn Burapha, a rising star striker who scored one goal in this game from a penalty, said that he actually asked his seniors who would take the penalty. In the end, his seniors and the coach told him to take it.
Meanwhile, Chehanafi Mama, a 20-year-old rising star striker from Pattani who just made his debut for the Thai national team in this tournament, revealed that he was delighted to represent the children from the three southern provinces in the Thai national team.
Malaysian national team coach Tan Cheng Hoe said after the game: "We lost to a better team. This group of players needs experience facing opponents of this caliber. It's certainly disappointing, knowing everyone did their best to try and score. With one game remaining, I believe Malaysia still has a good chance to advance to the next round."
The next match for the Thai national team will be an away game against the Philippines at New Clark City Athletic on August 4th at 8:00 PM.