Coach Worrawoot Srimakha expressed confidence yesterday that Thailand U23 team would qualify for the AFC U23 Championship finals but warned his men against underestimating Indonesia in their last Group H battle tonight.
Thailand were left in a difficult situation following a surprise 1-1 draw against minnows Mongolia on Wednesday, but an impressive 3-0 victory over Malaysia on Friday night rekindled their hopes for a place in the final stage of the tournament.
The match will be played at Supachalasai stadium at 7pm and will be televised live by Thai Rath TV (32). The game between Mongolia and Malaysia will kick off at 4pm and will be live on Thai Rath TV's YouTube channel.
Thailand dominated Malaysia throughout the Friday night's game with skipper Chenrop Samphaodi scoring a brace and Picha Au-Tra adding the third goal.
With Malaysia being the heavy favourites to beat Mongolia, the Thais need a victory over Indonesia tonight to assure themselves of the top spot in Group H and a place in the China finals.
The winners of the 10 qualifying groups plus the five best runners-up advance to next year's finals.
Worrawoot said: "We have to check on the fitness of Chenrop who picked up an injury during the game with Malaysia. Panudech [Maiwong] also suffered a cramp so he will also need to get a nod from team's doctor.
"We might make some changes in the attack for the match against Indonesia as we'll have to play better than the game with Malaysia.
"We cannot underestimate the Indonesians. They have speed and are dangerous in their attacks, but we should be able to exploit their weaknesses in the midfield and defence.
"If our players followed the game plan, I am confident that we can get past the Indonesians and qualify for the final stage in China."
Malaysia's coach Ong Kim Swee said: "We lost the match but we still have three points, we have a good chance of making it to the final stage."