Thailand’s national football team gets a new head coach

File photo : Masatada Ishii

Thailand’s national football team will officially introduce its new head coach, Masatada Ishii, 66, next week, after parting ways with Alexandre Polking on Wednesday.

The Japanese coach is a former manager of Thai Premier League team Buri Ram United and his first match, as the national team’s coach, will be a friendly against Japan’s national football team on January 1, 2024 in Tokyo.

Thailand decided to part company with Brazilian-German Polking after a mixed start to the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. The 3-1 win over Singapore on Tuesday wasn’t enough to save his job, as his team had suffered a 2-1 defeat to China the previous week.

Reports suggest that he will return to Ho Chi Minh City FC, his team for the 2020-2021 season.