Although not a major football-playing nation, the Thai men’s and women’s national football teams have displayed some outstanding performances over the years
When it comes to world football, Thailand is not recognized as a superstar country like Brazil, Argentina or Germany. However, in Asia, the South-eastern Asian country has done well in some tournaments that are not known by many football enthusiasts. Therefore, we have drafted this piece to shed light on some of the major achievements of the Thailand national football team (men and women).
As of 27 May 2021, the official FIFA ranking of the Thailand men’s national football team is 106 in the world. The men’s team managed to gather 1,178 points depending on their performances in various tournaments. On the other hand, the official FIFA ranking of the women’s team is 39. Much may be surprised to know that the women team’s average ranking has always been 34 and it has never gone above 40. The women team’s best-ever FIFA ranking was 29.
The women’s team of Thailand had qualified for the FIFA World Cup group stage in 2015 and 2019, which was incredible for an Asian country. Not to forget, in the 2015 edition, the women’ s team defeated Ivory Coast.
When it comes to international tournaments, the men’s team took part in the Olympic Games twice. They reached the first round in 1956 and 1968. Unlike the women’s team, the men’s team never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
In the AFC Asian Cup, the men’s team of Thailand came third once in 1972 whereas reached the fourth stage twice in 1990 and 1998.
Thailand and its neighbouring country Vietnam are arch-enemies in South-eastern Asian football. Against Vietnam, Thailand’s men’s team has always performed well. Out of 24 matches played, Thailand won 14 whereas seven ended in a draw. Only three games were lost by the Thai outfit.
Moving on to other major achievements of the women’s team, the Thai team won the Southeast Asian Games thrice in 1985, 1995, and 1997. In the AIFF Women’s Championship, the team secured the runner-up position once in 2019. Not to forget, in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the women’s team became champions in 1983.
Last but not least, the men’s team secured the runner-up position thrice in the AFF Championship whereas became champions once in 2000. In the Southeast Asian Games, the men’s team won the gold medal thrice along with a bronze and a silver in 1967 and 1959, respectively.
