Nursing emotional scars, Asian giants Japan take the field tonight aiming to heal their wounded pride against Thailand, who themselves are keen to impress and recoup the faith of their large army of fans.
Thai players train at Rajamangala National Stadium yesterday ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Japan tonight. Pattarapong Chatpattarasill Pattarapong Chatpattarasill
The Group B clash of Asia's final phase of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup kicks off at 7.15pm at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium and will be televised live by Channel 7.
Both Thailand and Japan feel they were victims of sub-standard refereeing in their opening game losses last Thursday -- Thailand were edged 1-0 by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh and Japan had succumbed to a 2-1 home defeat to the United Arab Emirates.
In the other Group B match last Thursday, Australia defeated Iraq 2-0.
Thailand coach Kiatisak Senamuang reiterated at a press conference yesterday that his men will be out to entertain the local fans with an attacking game, while AC Milan midfielder Keisuke Honda has already spelled out clearly that everyone should expect an "all out" effort from Japan.
Kiatisak said: "We are 100 percent ready for the match against Japan.
"In the Saudi Arabia match, our good wasn't good enough to get a point, so we have to put on a better show in this match.
"We can't go on letting the points slip through our hands. Every time we miss a point, our chances will get slimmer."
The Thai coach is hoping that the burden of expectations will prove too much for Japan and they will wilt under pressure in front of a large partisan Thai crowd tonight.
He also believes that since Thailand have gone this far in a World Cup qualifying round for only the second time in their history, all the pressure will be on Japan.
Thailand last reached this stage in the qualifying round for the 2002 World Cup.
"Our strength is that we don't have any pressure on our side. It is a long time since we last qualified for this round, unlike Saudi Arabia and Japan," he said.
"We have no fear. We played a friendly against South Korea a few months ago and only lost 1-0 so that was very positive and shows that Thai football has improved.
"We have been playing mostly with the same players and preparing for this [qualification] competition for a long time and I think the players are ready."
Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic is convinced his players have the quality and experience to get their campaign back on track with a win against Group B outsiders Thailand.
"I know what the atmosphere is going to be like in the stadium. I have watched tapes of some of Thailand's games and can see how much passion they have for football," Halihodzic said at yesterday's press conference.
"I know they are capable of playing well at home, but Japan have enough quality and experience to be able to manage the game. We will head into the match with character and determination."
Japan had a legitimate goal from substitute Takuma Asano against the UAE disallowed, while Thailand also cried foul after perceived injustices in their game against the Saudis.
Halilhodzic added: "We were robbed in our own backyard but life goes on. After the game I did not criticise the players and I have tried to encourage them and get them back on track."
Thailand's Sarach Yooyen, who was sent off against Saudi Arabia, is serving a one-match suspension and will miss tonight's match.
Kiatisak has called up Chonburi midfielder Adul Lasoh to replace Sarach.
In today's other Group B matches, Iraq host Saudi Arabia and the UAE are at home to Australia.
In Group A are Iran, South Korea, China, Qatar, Uzbekistan and Syria.
After home-and-away matches, the top two teams of each group automatically qualify for Russia 2018. The third-placed teams face each other with the winners taking on a Concacaf team for another berth.