Suphanat Mueanta: Thai football prodigy, Quang Hai's biggest rival

Suphanat Mueanta is known as a young star, scoring many goals for the Thai team, especially at the AFF Cup 2024. This guy is also considered Quang Hai's biggest rival this season.

Suphanat Mueanta was born on August 2, 2002 in Sisaket, Thailand and joined the Buriram United youth system at the age of 14. On May 26, 2018, he proved his outstanding talent and made history in the Thai League when he became the youngest goal scorer in a 5-0 win over Air Force Central, at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 22 days.

In 2019, Suphanat Mueanta continued to shock when he became the youngest player in history to score in the AFC Champions League. He scored against Beijing Guoan at the age of 16 years and 8 months. This was an important milestone for the "gem" of Thai football, affirming that he is not only outstanding in the region but also promising in the international arena.

The truth is that at youth levels, Suphanat Mueanta has always been superior to his teammates of the same age. He scored 19 goals in 16 matches for Thailand U16 (2016-2018), 13 goals in 9 matches for Thailand U19 (2017-2019), and 16 goals in 16 matches for Thailand U23 (2019-2022).

After a 2022-23 season with 13 goals and 16 assists for Buriram, Suphanat Mueanta was loaned to OH Leuven. Last December, the 22-year-old scored his first goal for the Belgian side, in a 3-0 win over Eupen.

However, Suphanat's European adventure was basically unsuccessful because it was also his only goal in the OH Leuven shirt. In October 2024, he returned to Buriram United with valuable experience from a foreign land.

As mentioned above, Suphanat Mueanta's best time in the club's shirt was in the 2022-23 season. Buriram United was led by coach Masatada Ishii at that time and he was the one who knew how to best promote the 22-year-old striker's strengths by pushing him to the right wing in a 4-4-2 formation.

Suphanat initially preferred the centre forward role, but he quickly proved that this was not a troublesome situation but rather an opportunity to maximize his abilities. The right wing provided more space for penetration, passing and an impressive assist record.

Unsurprisingly, reuniting with the Japanese coach at the national team level, Suphanat continued to shine in the right forward position, whether in a 4-3-3 formation (against Timor Leste) or a 4-1-4-1 formation (against Malaysia).

In the match against Timor Leste, Suphanat contributed to 4/10 goals of Thailand, including 2 goals, 2 assists and received an absolute score of 10. In the match against Malaysia, although he did not score, it was his smart movements and influence on the right wing that created the opportunity for Patrik Gustavsson to score the only goal, bringing a 1-0 victory for the home team.

Notably, Suphanat is not only a talented player, but also possesses the temperament of a leader. At the age of 22, he has become the leader of the Thai team's attack in the most important tournament in the region.

Without Teerasil Dangda, coach Alexandre Polking trusts Suphanat to take the leading role. Although he is only 20 years old, he is already the most experienced striker of the home team at the ASEAN Cup 2024 with 13 goals in 28 matches. For comparison, Guvstasson scored 3 goals in 3 matches, while Teerasak Poeiphimai scored 2 goals in 12 matches.

Not stopping there, Suphanat is also an inspiration for his teammates thanks to his tireless fighting spirit and flexibility in playing style. The perfect combination between him and Patrik Gustavsson is helping Thailand become one of the strong candidates for the 2024 ASEAN Cup championship.

On the evening of December 17, Suphanat scored a beautiful goal and had another assist for his teammate in the emotional comeback of the Thai team against Singapore. However, immediately after the match, he, Pansa Hemviboon and Seksan Ratree had to return to the club to play in the FA Cup match on December 18.

The reason is that the ASEAN Cup 2024 is not included in the FIFA Days schedule and the home club has the right not to release or recall players to serve the team when domestic tournaments are still taking place normally in parallel with the ASEAN Cup 2024.

The absence of Suphanat, Pansa Hemviboon and Seksan Ratree is expected to greatly affect the competitiveness of the "War Elephants" in the upcoming semi-finals. Before the sudden decision from Buriram United Club, Thai fans were indignant: "The players are being squeezed out between the conflict of interests between the club and the national team"; "Buriram is behaving strangely",...

Looking more broadly, in all 3 matches that Thailand played at the ASEAN Cup 2024, Suphanat was the best player. He contributed a total of 3 goals and had 4 "assistance" passes, considered the biggest rival of Nguyen Quang Hai.

The midfielder of the Vietnamese team also managed to score 1 goal and 2 assists after 2 matches. His influence on the home team is even greater than what Suphanat did with the Thai team. When the "star warriors" were stuck against Laos, only having a goal from Hai Long's moment of brilliance, Quang Hai appeared and had 2 assists that tore apart the defense of the team from the land of a million elephants.

Against Indonesia, the shining moment of the vice-captain from Dong Anh brought joy to the fans at Viet Tri Stadium. Above all, the Vietnamese team attacked based on the inspiration named Nguyen Quang Hai. He continuously moved, connected and launched assists for his teammates.

Because of the draw with the Philippines in the match on the evening of December 18, Quang Hai and his teammates will inevitably face Thailand in the semi-finals. If Suphanat is allowed to return to play for the "War Elephants" in the semi-finals and finals, the confrontation between him and the midfielder of the Vietnamese team will attract the attention of all of Southeast Asia.

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