Rumours had been rife that the 61 years old Winfried Schäfer was favourite to succeed Bryan Robson, who ended his ill-fated two-year tenure earlier this month, citing health problems as the reason for his resignation.
During the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, War Elephants played well and built a lot of faith up in the fans. The attendance was nearly full house, War Elephants almost beat Australia at their home and even defeated Oman 3–0. This was in addition to the draw against Saudi Arabia, when I called up many young starlets to the team, which reflects on the fact that we have plenty of good players. In the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, Thailand reached the final after topping their group and knocking out Malaysia 3–1 on aggregate.[8] In the final Thailand lost the first leg 3–1 to Singapore and won the second leg 1–0, but lost on aggregate 3–2.
In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification Thailand suffered a massive setback, with their defensive frailities fully exposed by their Middle East rivals. Thailand lost all 6 games in the qualifiers, conceding 21 goals in the process. In June 2013, Schäfer cancelled his contract. The FA of Thailand appointed Kiatisak Senamuang as the new caretaker coach for national team. His first task was friendly match against China PR on 15 June, which Thailand won 5–1.