Thailand coach Kiatisak Senamuang admits his men face their toughest match so far as they bid for a record fifth AFF Suzuki Cup title when they take on Indonesia in the first leg of the final in Bogor tonight.
Indonesia coach Alfred Riedl, meanwhile, says the Garudas will do their best to upset the War Elephants and win the Asean title for the first time.
Kiatisak's observation will surprise very few as the match, which kicks off at 7pm, will be played at the Stadion Pakansari where the hosts recorded a shock 2-1 victory over one of the tournament favourites, Vietnam, in their semi-final first leg.
Tonight's game is a repeat of the opening match of this year's tournament when holders Thailand beat the Indonesians 4-2 in Manila.
Interestingly, it is the only game of this tournament in which the Thais have conceded a goal.
"It is the key match for us. We have great respect for the Indonesians who will be very hard to beat here in Bogor," Kiatisak, who led Thailand to victory two years ago, told a press conference yesterday.
"We know how dangerous Indonesia can be. We have seen what they can do. They did so well to beat Vietnam in the semi-finals.
"Everyone in the team is ready to play. Tomorrow's game will be a great celebration of football for Southeast Asia and I hope the fans will be able to enjoy it."
The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 and an intense and intimidating army of Indonesian supporters will greet Thailand when they step out onto the pitch for one of the biggest matches in their history.
A good result in the first leg will put the Thais in a strong position heading into the second leg to be played at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium on Saturday.
The War Elephants, who beat Myanmar 6-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals, are bidding to win the Southeast Asian title for a record fifth time and are unbeaten in this edition with five wins so far.
Indonesia coach Riedl said his side will try their best to "make history" by winning the Suzuki Cup for the first time.
It is the fifth time the Indonesians have made it to the final and they want to bury the ghosts of 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2010.
"We are playing the No.1 team in Southeast Asia so we know it is going to be very difficult but we want to make history and win this for the first time," said Austrian Riedl.
"We have the great advantage of playing in front of our wonderful fans and this will give us a huge lift."
Indonesia have surprised everyone as they entered this year's tournament having not played a competitive match since the last Suzuki Cup in 2014 due to a Fifa ban.
"We had to make a lot of tactical changes and that has been the key that allowed us to play so well in the tournament," said Riedl.
"But ultimately the key has been playing as a team, and our spirit has been incredible."
In Hanoi last week, Indonesia managed a memorable 2-2 draw after extra-time in the semi-final second leg for a 4-3 aggregate win.
They have lost only one game so far which was their opening match defeat to the Thais. "We absolutely came to win the tournament and show what we are capable of," said Riedl.