Thailand, who have a foot firmly placed in the 12-team final Asian qualifying stage for the 2018 World Cup, will get a taste of the challenge that lies ahead when they play South Korea in a friendly on March 27.
The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) yesterday announced that the match against the Asian powerhouse will be staged at Bangkok's Supachalasai Stadium.
Three days before the friendly with South Korea, Thailand take on Iraq in their last Group F game of the Asian qualifying round's second stage in Tehran.
Thailand lead the Group F standings with 13 points and need a draw to go through as the group winners. Iraq have eight points but have a game in hand against Vietnam, who have already been eliminated, on March 29.
With Kuwait being suspended, Thailand look set to sail through to the final stage even if they are overtaken by Iraq in the group.
The final phase of the Asian competition will bring together eight group winners and four best second-placed teams.
The top four sides will earn tickets to Russia 2018 while the fifth-placed team will face a Concacaf nation for another slot.
Thailand coach Kiatisak Senamuang said: "This is an important match for the Thai team, so we will be fielding our best players.
"We want to prove our mettle at the Asian level. I believe that this is a game that the Thai football fans have been waiting for. This is an official friendly so it can help us improve our world ranking."
Thailand are currently ranked No.121 in the world, while South Korea are No.51.
Thailand and South Korea have met 60 times in different tournaments with Thailand winning eight matches and 12 contests ending in stalemate.
The South Korean federation yesterday submitted the names of its 23 players for the match with their Swansea City player Ki Sung-Yueng being on the list.
However, Tottenham's Son Heung-Min has been left out of the squad for as part of a proposal to let him remain with Spurs as the London club chases the English Premier League title in return for being allowed to represent his country at the Rio Olympics.
"We've asked Tottenham to make Son available for the Olympics as a wild card, and in exchange, we offered not to select him for matches in March," South Korea coach Uli Stielike said in Seoul yesterday.