Before the opening match of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, coach Tony Vidmar of U23 Australia expects his team to have a favorable start against U23 Thailand, although the team's preparation time for the tournament is quite short.
We had a short preparation time before coming to Riyadh. Since winning tickets to the finals, we have not had any matches. We went to Dammam and trained there for 4-5 days, but only had full members on the last day at Dammam. When we arrived in Riyadh, we only prepared the final stages for the first match.
U23 Thailand is a team that plays at a fast pace and is good at counter-attacking, with players in midfield and attack that can be dangerous to us. Therefore, we really have to defend very firmly," Tony Vidmar said.
In contrast to the kangaroo team, U23 Thailand had a very long time of training together. Their force consists mainly of players in the U22 squad, who just won a silver medal in men's football at SEA Games 33.
We came here early to get used to the surrounding environment, thanks to which when playing, we can show our abilities better. From this tournament and previous tournaments, U23 Thailand may have some changes in many positions, but many people have trained with the team for several months. We believe that the players will all have good adaptation," U23 Thailand coach Thawatchai Damrong-Ongtrakul said.
Statistics show that U23 Australia won in the only previous meeting with U23 Thailand at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship in Thailand. The young team from the land of kangaroos won the opening match in 2/3 of the previous tournaments (2018 and 2022). Meanwhile, U23 Thailand won the opening match at the 2020 and 2024 AFC U23 Championships.
U23 Thailand has lost both of their most recent matches at the AFC U23 Championship, without scoring any goals. If they lose to U23 Australia, the Southeast Asian team will equal their longest winning streak at the 2018 tournament.
Australia has not scored in all 5 recent matches at the AFC U23 Championship, this is the longest unscored streak of any team in the tournament (along with U23 China - from January 2020 to April 2024).
The U23 Thailand vs U23 Australia match will take place at 6:30 PM on January 8.
Score prediction: U23 Thailand 0-2 U23 Australia.
