Thai media unexpectedly mentioned the Vietnam national team after FAT dismissed coach Ishii.

21/10/2025 20:20:00 GameGladiator

Thairath pointed out that the two defeats to Vietnam at the 2024 Asean Cup were one of the factors causing coach Masatada Ishii to be fired.

The announcement by the Football Association of Thailand about the dismissal of coach Masatada Ishii has attracted significant attention. According to FAT, the Japanese coach no longer met the criteria set by the association for leading the Thai national team. On the other hand, Ishii expressed frustration over the sudden termination. The Japanese coach stated that he has not yet agreed to sign the contract termination papers with FAT.

Recently, Thairath published an article listing seven reasons why coach Masatada Ishii was dismissed. Notably, the newspaper mentioned the two losses of the "War Elephants" against Vietnam at the 2024 Asean Cup as one of the main reasons:

"The Thailand national team missed out on the 2024 AFC Asian Cup and lost to Vietnam in both legs of the finals, including the defeat to the Philippines for the first time in 52 years (the first leg of the 2024 AFF Cup semifinals)."

504646206_4029338860642719_854171801781503540_n — The two losses to Vietnam at the AFF Cup were among the reasons that led to coach Ishii’s sacking.

Additionally, Thairath listed the poor achievements of the Japanese coach during his tenure: elimination in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, failure to win the King’s Cup at home, and unimpressive performances against weaker teams such as Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan...

Furthermore, Thairath pointed out that coach Masatada Ishii’s player selection and tactics were also reasons for his dismissal: "He did not choose the athletes who were actually in their best form at the time, but instead used the same group of players who rarely had chances to play for their clubs and were not in their best condition.

dFQROr7oWzulq5Fa6rpOetuM8tfMaG1sStMYpJPa4dJuRcDpqiTl9VxUktriuuiMpy2 — Image credit: Thairath

The outdated coaching style caused players to lack motivation both in training and competition, resulting in shallow attacking plays in many matches. He also ignored advice from the technical department of the Football Association of Thailand., Thairath wrote.

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