Buriram United FC will enjoy a psychological edge over Johor Darul Ta’zim FC with star forward Suphanat Mueanta insisting his team will thrive under pressure as they seek a second consecutive ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ title.
The Thai League 1 side face off against the Malaysia Super League champions in next week’s first-leg semi-finals where they hold an advantage following two wins and two draws in their four previous encounters on the continental stage.
Suphanat has also proven to be JDT’s bogeyman, with the powerful Thai international scoring twice against the Malaysian club, who qualified for the Shopee Cup™ knockout rounds following an impressive run in the group stage with three wins and two draws.
The rivals will meet in the first leg at Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on May 6 before clashing again at Buriram United’s home ground in Thailand a week later in a battle between two of the biggest outfits in ASEAN club football.
“Of course, it’s a great achievement for both myself and the club,” Suphanat says of Buriram United’s return to the last four. “We are a club that aims for success every year. Reaching this stage means our goal is to become champions and defend the title.
“There is always pressure but, having won the title before, we know how to handle it. We’ve experienced this in every competition, and our goal remains to be champions.”
Buriram United and JDT will meet for the first time in the Shopee Cup™, but have faced off on four occasions in the AFC Champions League Elite over the past two seasons, with Buriram United unbeaten against the serial Malaysia Super League champions.
After scoreless draws in their first two encounters, the Thai champions have won the two most recent meetings, with Suphanat on target on both occasions.
He netted the only goal in a 1-0 win in the second leg of their round of 16 clash in the continental championship last season before scoring the equaliser in the league phase meeting in the 2025/26 competition last September, in which Buriram United registered a 2-1 victory.
“Both teams are strong, and many people expected this match-up to be a final,” Suphanat says of the impending meeting with Xisco Muñoz’s side. “However, I hope the result will go in Buriram’s favour.”
The 23-year-old will be looking to add another title to a bulging trophy cabinet that already features a host of Thai League 1 crowns, Thai FA Cups and Thai League Cups won since making his debut as a standout 15-year-old in April 2018.
He won his first Thai title that season and went on to claim two more before making a switch to Belgium, where he joined OH Leuven on loan for 14 months from September 2023 to October 2024.
Upon his return to Buriram, he resumed his trophy-winning run, helping Buriram United to two more Thai League 1 titles – including the ongoing 2025/26 season – and last year’s Shopee Cup™, where the team defeated Vietnam’s Công An Hà Nội FC in the final.
“The intensity of the game is very different there,” Suphanat says of his experience in Europe. “It pushed me to improve myself even further.
“The person who has influenced me the most is myself. I decide how I want to play and what I want to improve. I don’t need to wait for anyone to tell me; I always try to develop and become better on my own.”
While the Shopee Cup™ is Suphanat’s most immediate focus, he is also expected to feature prominently for Thailand when the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026™ kicks off in July as the War Elephants attempt to reclaim the title from Vietnam.
Seven-times ASEAN champions Thailand have been drawn in Group B and they will open their campaign against Laos on July 25 before facing Malaysia, the Philippines and Myanmar.
“We need unity,” he says. “We have to believe together that we can become champions. We’ll give our best, and as for the result, we’ll see how it turns out.”
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