Five years on, crushing World Cup defeat still motivates Thai women

BANGKOK — Thai women's goalkeeper Sukanya Chor Charoenying will never forget her World Cup debut five years ago — a record 13-0 defeat to the USA.

FIFA meets in Bangkok on Friday to name the 2027 Women's World Cup host — reviving painful memories for Sukanya and captain Kanjana Sungngoen who have turned their 2019 nightmare into inspiration for the future.

Sukanya, now 36 and teaching sport at a Bangkok University, said she wept all the way back to the team hotel after the 2019 mauling in France.

"We were so ready to play against them. We truly believed that we would put up a hard game for them," she told reporters.

Instead, Sukyana was on the receiving end as Megan Rapinoe's all-conquering United States team inflicted the biggest scoreline in a World Cup finals match — men's or women's.

"I couldn't accept it," Sukanya admitted.

"For years, I refused to watch any clips from that game. I didn't talk to my family about it at all."

A respectable 3-0 defeat in a warm-up against host France gave Thailand some confidence going into its opening match against the defending champion.

At halftime in Reims, Thailand was 3-0 down, but worse was to come. The USA ran riot with 10 second-half goals to set it on its way to lifting the trophy for a fourth time.

"You know what made me really sad about it? It's that I knew everyone was watching back home," Sukanya said, fighting back tears.

"That day, we were heartbroken that we had disappointed the Thai people."

Sukanya and her teammates faced cruel mockery online in the wake of the defeat.

But, there was also fierce criticism of the Americans for their treatment of Thailand, which was making only its second appearance at the World Cup proper.

'Wake-up call'

Some pundits and fans said the wild celebrations of the Americans after their later goals were crass and unsporting.

The US players stood by their behavior, and Thai skipper Kanjana insisted she had no complaints.

"I think if they went easy on us, that is far more disrespectful," Kanjana, who scored Thailand's only goal in the tournament, said.

"To not hold back, that's the way of professional soccer."

The 37-year-old, now a player-coach at Bangkok FC, said the USA defeat was a "wake-up call" for the women's game in Thailand.

"We realized that we had to put as much effort into development as them to be at the same level," she said. "At the time, being a professional footballer wasn't a career."

Kanjana said that, now, the Thai women's game is better structured and run more efficiently, but a shortage of top clubs means that the first division season lasts only a few weeks.

Teams have to contend with poor facilities and a men's game that grabs most of the attention.

'It was an inspiration'

Nuengrutai Srathongvian, the national coach in 2019, said: "Many people don't know about women's soccer, so we can provide more information."

Kanjana has hopes for the future after the election in February of the Thai FA's first woman president, insurance tycoon Nualphan Lamsam, who has already set a target of qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup.

On Friday, FIFA's Congress in Bangkok will choose the host, which will be either Brazil, or a joint bid from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Sukanya, now retired from playing, will be watching, and hopes the current team can draw on the lessons of 2019 as it chases qualification.

After the 13-0 defeat, American Carli Lloyd, one of the greatest women's players of all time, was among the first to console the Thai players.

"She told me to keep going and to not quit. That made me feel really good," Sukanya said.

"It was an inspiration, but not for me to keep playing. Instead I thought 'I couldn't beat you today, so I will go back and train our young players so they can'."

And the pride of having represented her country at a World Cup still burns bright.

"Just to have played there against the best in the world — I can talk about it until I die," she said.

AFP