Thailand's Young Elephants Touch Down in Saudi Arabia After 12-Hour Journey, Dive into Recovery Pool
Thailand's U-17 football team arrived in Saudi Arabia after a 12-hour flight to compete in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup, with coach Marco Gökçek immediately organizing recovery sessions for the 23-player squad ahead of their first match against T
Thailand's U-17 national football team, led by head coach Marco Gökçek with 23 players, departed for Saudi Arabia on the evening of April 30th to compete in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026. In the early morning hours of May 1st, the team completed their approximately 12-hour journey to Saudi Arabia, where Gökçek immediately arranged recovery sessions in the hotel pool to help players recuperate. Thailand is placed in Group A alongside Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Myanmar. The group winners and runners-up will advance to the knockout rounds, with the eight advancing nations eligible to represent Asia at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026 in Qatar in November 2026. Thailand will open their campaign against Tajikistan on the evening of May 5th (morning of May 6th) at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium B (Champions).
