Thailand U23 coach Alexandre Gama is pleased with the overall performance of his squad despite their second-placed finish at the 2019 AFF U22 Championship.
The Thai U22 team were beaten 2-1 by Indonesia in the title showdown of the tournament on Tuesday night in Phnom Penh.
The War Elephants returned home yesterday and Gama said upon arrival at the airport: "Our target was to win the title but we did not want to pressure the players. In fact, we nearly claimed the trophy.
"The team had a lot of new players so this tournament must have been a great experience for them.
"What actually counted was that we did not train together for a very long time and still did well.
"In the next tournament, I am sure the team will do better than this."
Gama added: "The fitness level of these players showed in Phnom Penh.
"After selecting so many new players, it is a good thing that we reached the final of the competition. I am sure we will not miss such an opportunity to win the title again."
The Brazilian coach said he believed in the potential of some of his young players.
"Some of them who played in Cambodia were all keen to make an effort. They helped each other a lot," said Gama.
"If we can have this bunch together again, I think they will perform at a higher level than this."
He said the team had a number of good players who could help Thailand earn a ticket to the Olympics.
For the next tournament, the AFC U23 Championship, Gama said: "We will try to do our best in the qualifying rounds although the results will not count because Thailand have already qualified for the final round as hosts."
Thailand will stage the AFC U23 Championship finals next year.
Meanwhile, Sirisak Yodyardthai, caretaker coach of the senior national team, is not planning to call up the four foreign-based players to play in the China Cup in Nanning next month.
The four teams participating in the China Cup will be China, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Uruguay, who are the defending champions. The tournament will take place from March 18-26.
Sirisak said: "Although China Cup is on Fifa calendar and we can ask our foreign-based players to join the team, I think there is no point risking injuries to these players. It can be bad for their careers."
The four foreign-based players are Chanathip Songkrasin (Consadole Sapporo), Thitiphan Puangjan (Oita Trinita), Theerathon Bunmathan (Yokohama F Marinos) and Kawin Thamsatchanan (OH Leuven in Belgium).
