The uphill road faced by Thailand in the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ 2026 final against Vietnam somehow mirrors the path Yotsakon Burapha needed to take in his fledgling football career.
Long before his first senior team call-up, Yotsakon’s introduction to football was playing with a ball made from moulded paper and held together with rubber bands.
He proved to be good at the game with his quick feet, agility and knack for scoring, traits that Thailand head coach Anthony Hudson desperately needs him to reproduce as they seek to overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg, final in Hanoi on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Yotsakon, making his debut in the celebrated tournament dubbed the jewel in the crown of ASEAN football, is amongst a crop of rising stars who have sparkled over the past one month.
He proved dangerous in the first leg at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on Saturday, but saw Vietnam custodian Patrik Le Giang deny him with a flying save in the first half while he skied another glorious one-on-one chance before Vietnam punished the Thais with two second-half goals.
Hudson is least surprised that Yotsakon has stood out in his squad blended by youthful exuberance and experienced stalwarts.
“I'm personally not surprised that he's doing well. He’s a very high potential player and we just want him to keep focusing on working hard and improving his game,” said Hudson.
Yotsakon grew up as a kid who knew what he wanted in life. But the road wasn’t easy.
From kicking make-shift footballs in the rural district of Chanthaburi, east of Thailand, his parents, both farmers, supported his passion, taking him to training and investing what they could in his development.
By the age of 12, he started dreaming of becoming a professional footballer.
“I used to watch my father play, and I also saw my friends playing. There was a group of people in my village who regularly got together to play football, and that was how I started to enjoy the game. My father was also very supportive of me,” said Yotsakon.
“I then started thinking about becoming a professional footballer when I was around 11 or 12 years old. At that time, my school team was competing in different tournaments, and I began to see football as something I wanted to pursue seriously.”
As a kid, he initially missed out on selection trials with the PTT Rayong academy, but shrugged off his disappointment and persisted at the Royal Thai Navy academy where he impressed coaches despite fighting for attention with nearly 1,000 other kids.
Interestingly, he started out as a midfielder but when a teammate fell ill, he stepped in as a forward and his eye-catching displays subsequently earned him a breakthrough move to Chonburi FC, marking a big leap into the professional game.
“My time in Chonburi has given me a lot of valuable experience. I had the opportunity to train alongside players who were competing at Thai League level, and that helped me develop as a player,” said Yotsakon, who has two goals at the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ 2026.
Part of the club’s development plan included loan moves for Yotsakon to Samut Prakan City, where he starred as the team’s leading scorer in Thai League 2, PT Prachuap in Thai League 1 and Singapore club Hougang United before returning to Chonburi last December where he scored five goals and provided six assists in 20 appearances.
The FA of Thailand later named Yotsakon the 2025/26 Young Player of the Year, and then came the call from Hudson.
“I'm very happy because this is my first call-up to the senior national team,” said Yotsakon, who made his first senior debut in 2023. “It means a lot to me. Not only is it a proud moment for myself, but it is also a proud moment for my family.”
He recognises his parents’ sacrifices to ensure he could chase his sporting dreams.
“My parents are farmers. They supported me by taking me to train at a football academy near our home. They spent a lot of money supporting me before I eventually decided to attend a secondary school with a good football programme,” said Yotsakon.
“I never imagined that I would come this far and eventually earn a place in the Thailand national team.”
Share now
