Thailand kicked off their AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers Group B campaign with a 4-0 victory over Timor Leste at Chiang Mai's 700th Anniversary Stadium on Thursday night.
Thailand captain Saowalak Pengngam hit a first-half hat-trick, while substitute Ploychompoo Somnuek scored the fourth goal in stoppage time.
The Chaba Kaew are third in Group B, level on points with India, but behind the Blue Tigresses on goal difference. Iraq top the standings with four points from two games.
Timor, who drew 0-0 with Iraq in their opening match, came under pressure as early as the second minute with goalkeeper Gorette Da Costa denying Pattaranan Aupachai's volley from inside the box.
However, Saowalak broke the deadlock three minutes later when Pattaranan's shot was blocked but the rebound fell kindly for the Chaba Kaew forward to convert from close range.
Thailand got their second goal on 31 minutes with Saowalak using her speed to dribble past her marker before firing a low shot into the bottom corner.
An error from Da Costa a minute before the break widened Thailand's advantage with Saowalak completing her hat-trick after pouncing on an errant pass from inside the box.
Thailand got the fourth goal in the second minute of added time from Ploychompoo, who turned in Natcha Kaewanta's pass from inside the area.
Coach Futoshi Ikeda was satisfied with his team's victory but admitted there is still plenty of room for improvement.
"Getting the win in our first game is satisfying but looking back, we created a lot of chances. We should have scored more goals," said Ikeda.
Iraq claimed a 5-2 win over Mongolia in the group's other fixture.
Thailand will face Iraq on Sunday while Timor Leste will aim to bounce back when they will take on India.
FAT pays Siam Sport
The Football Association of Thailand made a second payment of 20 million baht in compensation to Siam Sport Syndicate on Friday.
The FAT was ordered by the Supreme Court in March to pay Siam Sport 360 million baht in damages plus interest for an "unfair" termination of a privileges and TV rights contract.
The incident occurred during Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung's tenure as president in 2016.
The FAT chief made the first payment of 25 million baht in April.
Thawatchai in, Nishikaya out
The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) has named former Thailand midfielder Thawatchai Dumrong-ongtrakul as the new U23 coach after the sacking of Japanese tactician Takayuki Nishikaya.
Nishikaya had coached the U23 team for five matches and lost all of them. The Japanese received 1.2 million baht in compensation for his contract termination.
Thawatchai left Chonburi after his contract expired last season. He guided the Sharks to the Thai League 2 title, securing promotion to the top flight next season.
The U23 team will participate in three major tournaments later this year, including the Asean U23 Championship (Mandiri Cup) in Indonesia between July 15-29, the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers from Sept 3-9 and the 33rd SEA Games in December.