Thailand coach Kiatisak Senamuang said yesterday he was not worried about the large partisan crowd when his men take on the United Arab Emirates in a World Cup qualifier in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
The Group B match of Asia's final qualifying phase for Russia 2018 kicks off at 11pm, Thai time.
Thailand need a result to keep alive their World Cup dream after consecutive defeats in their opening two games.
Kiatisak's team lost 1-0 at Saudi Arabia and were outclassed 2-0 by Japan in Bangkok.
After the UAE match, Thailand will play Iraq in Tehran on Oct 11.
Australia and Saudi Arabia each have six points from two matches in Group B, while Japan and the UAE have three each. Thailand and Iraq are still looking for their first point.
In Group A are Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, China and Syria.
The top two teams of each group earn tickets to Russia. The two third-placed sides will meet each other with the winners facing a Concacaf team for another berth.
More than 40,000 people are expected to watch tomorrow's match in the stadium in Abu Dhabi but Kiatisak said his men are capable of handling hostile crowds.
"We have played in front of big crowds in Malaysia and Vietnam in the Suzuki Cup [Southeast Asian championship], so I am confident that our players can play in such a situation,'' said Kiatisak.
Kiatisak is more concerned about captain Theerathon Bunmathan who is one booking away from suspension.
"I have told him to be careful when making tackles,'' Kiatisak said.
"In football you never know what will happen and he may need to stop an opponent. But if he and other players are suspended for the Iraq match, we still have players to replace them.
"We arrived here 10 days before the match and we are now ready. We are not worried about anything. The weather is not a problem for us and the food is fine. We want to prove that we are good enough to play at the Asian level."
Kiatisak said the UAE had several good players such as Omar Abdulrahman, Ismail Al Hammadi and Ahmed Khalil and it was a good opportunity for Thailand to test themselves against them.
Defender Theerathon said Thailand are good enough to get at least a point in tomorrow's match.
"Their striker Ahmed Khalil is tall and fast but we will play our own game and try to get a win,'' he said.
Midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin added: "The UAE are stronger than us but we will do our best to get a result."
Meanwhile, winger Manabu Saito of Yokohama F Marinos has been called up by Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic for two upcoming World Cup qualifiers after Mainz forward Yoshinori Muto and Augsburg's Takashi Usami pulled out with injuries, Kyodo reported.
Japan, who fell to a shock home 2-1 defeat against the UAE before winning 2-0 away to Thailand last month, will take on Iraq in Saitama tomorrow before travelling to face Australia on Oct 11.
Saito, 26, has a personal-high eight goals this season after bagging two goals and assisting in two more on Saturday when F Marinos hammered struggling Ventforet Kofu away.
The tricky winger was part of the 2014 World Cup squad but did not take to the field in Brazil under coach Alberto Zaccheroni.