In the early morning of May 10, U17 Thailand continued to face difficulties at the 2026 AFC U17 Championship finals when facing U17 Saudi Arabia in the second match of Group A.
The West Asian representative entered the game proactively and soon had the opening goal in the 4th minute. From a corner kick on the right wing, Al Yami jumped high to head dangerously, making the U17 Thailand goalkeeper unable to stop it.
After conceding an early goal, the young team from the Land of the Golden Temple tried to push up the squad to find an equalizer. In the 13th minute, Rungrueang put the ball into the net of U17 Saudi Arabia after an aerial duel in the penalty area, but the referee disallowed the goal because it was determined that the Thai player had fouled earlier.
In the remainder of the first half, U17 Thailand created many more notable opportunities. In the 28th minute, Phanuphong Jeyakom escaped on the right wing and crossed favorably for Phanuwit Jeyakom to finish, but the shot was inaccurate.
In the 37th minute, Rungrueang continued to have a one-on-one opportunity but could not beat the opponent's goalkeeper.
In the second half, U17 Saudi Arabia actively played more solidly and waited for counter-attack opportunities. Meanwhile, U17 Thailand still maintained pressure with many fast attacks. However, the strikers of the Southeast Asian team showed ineffectiveness in decisive situations.
In the 68th minute, U17 Saudi Arabia had a chance to double the gap when Bu Shaqraa technically handled the ball in front of the penalty area, but the finish was not difficult enough to beat the U17 Thailand goalkeeper.
Thailand U17's clearest opportunity came in the 87th minute. Chaiwarangkun made a favorable through ball for La Ong Dee to run down to face the goalkeeper, but this striker failed to finish.
While the Southeast Asian team was still trying to find an equalizer, U17 Saudi Arabia finished the match in the first minute of injury time. From Al Batli's long-range shot, Al Okrush quickly rebounded in the penalty area, sealing a 2-0 victory for the West Asian representative.
With this result, U17 Saudi Arabia has 3 important points in the race to advance in Group A. Conversely, the 2nd consecutive defeat caused U17 Thailand to shorten their chances of reaching the quarter-finals of this year's AFC U17 Championship.
