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Thailand host Afghanistan for a friendly game at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Friday, looking for their first win of the calendar year. The War Elephants lost both their ASEAN Championship final clashes with Vietnam in January, going down 5-3 on aggregate.
With the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers coming up, Masatada Ishii's side take on Sri Lanka next week and will consider Friday's game as a chance to blow away the cobwebs.
A total of 23 players have been summoned for this month's double-header, including key forward Suphanat Mueanta, who struck 15 times from 34 appearances for them. Patrik Gustavsson has made a fast start to his international career with the War Elephants, netting five times in just nine games. He will be vital to their fortunes here.
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Afghanistan also come into the fixture on the back of a couple of defeats. Having gone their first three fixtures of 2024 unbeaten, the Lions of Khorasan lost to Kuwait, Nepal and Tajikistan in a row. The first was a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, followed by two friendlies.
Aiming to start afresh in the Asian Cup qualifiers next week, Usmon Toshev's side have a chance to rehearse ahead of their campaign against a side that is 59 places above them in the FIFA World Ranking.
Thailand vs Afghanistan Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Interestingly, this will be just the second official meeting between the sides in history.
- Thailand beat Afghanistan 2-0 in their first clash on 3 September 2015, a friendly match.
- The Lions of Khorasan have lost their last three official games and remain winless in their last four, netting just once during this run.
- Thailand have lost three of their last four international games, including both of their fixtures in 2025 thus far (coming against Vietnam in the ASEAN Championship finals).
- The War Elephants are ranked 97th in the world, while Afghanistan are in 156th position.
Thailand vs Afghanistan Prediction
The War Elephants are the better side on paper, despite their patchy run of late. A menacing attacking frontline means the home side have the might to take down the Lions of Khorasan, who have gone off the rails lately.
Prediction: Thailand 2-0 Afghanistan
Thailand vs Afghanistan Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Thailand to win
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No
