After being eliminated from the 2018 AFF Cup, Thailand have made a number of changes to their roster ahead of the AFC Asian Cup next month. Players who featured during the regional competition, including Philip Roller, Nurul Sriyankem, Pakorn Prempak and Mongkol Tossakrai, have been dropped from the squad. They are joined by promising youngster Kevin Deeromram, who departs the squad after not making an appearance at the tournament. Bangkok United defender Manuel Bihr is also set to depart due to an injury sustained earlier in the tournament.
So far, Thailand have announced a 27 man squad, with four players to be excluded from the final team which travels for the competition in the United Arab Emirates.
The big news for the War Elephants is the return of their foreign-based players: Kavin Thamsatchanan from OH Leuven, Theerathon Bunmathan from Vissel Kobe, Chanathip Songkrasin from Consadole Sapporo and Teerasil Dangda from Sanfrecce Hiroshima. All four are expected to return directly into the starting eleven.
More surprising recalls include full-backs Tristan Do and Peerapat Notechaiya, who recently made moves to Bangkok United from rivals Muangthong. Their former teammate, Adisorn Promrak, presumably comes in to take the place of the injured Manuel, despite not featuring regularly for his club side. 21-year-old Shinnaphat Lee-Oh also made the squad, with this call-up likely being a reward for his consistent performances with Chiangrai United last season.
Supachok Sarachat has long since been a favourite of coach Milovan Rajevac, who gave the Buriram youngster his first senior cap back in August 2017. The 20-year-old is the only addition to the midfield, along with the aforementioned Chanathip.
Despite not scoring a single goal in the domestic league last season, forward Siroch Chatthong makes a surprising return to the War Elephants squad, completing the lineup of new arrivals.
This preliminary list contains four goalkeepers, five center-backs, three left-backs and a host of support strikers. These are the areas to watch for coach Rajevac as he prepares to trim his squad ahead of the major continental competition.