Midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin wants to settle a score when Thailand face the hosts in the China Cup in Nanning on Thursday.
The four-team friendly tournament also features Uruguay and Uzbekistan who meet on Friday.
The winners will play in the final and the losers in the third-place play-off on March 25.
Chanathip and two other Japan-based stars Thitiphan Puangjan and Theerathon Bunmathan joined the rest of the Thai team at Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday before flying to Nanning.
Thursday's match will be 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro's first assignment as coach of China.
Thailand lost 2-1 to the Dragons, under Cannavaro's mentor Marcello Lippi, in the last-16 round at the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year.
"I want to beat China for the Thai fans,'' Chanathip said yesterday.
"If we beat China on their home soil, it would make amends for our loss to them in the Asian Cup.
"Although we are the underdogs, I am confident that we can beat them."
Though Chanathip said that this is Thailand's best squad at the moment, the War Elephants are without their top striker Teerasil Dangda.
The absence of the SCG Muang Thong United forward is a big concern for Thailand interim coach Sirisak Yodyardthai.
"I am worried about the lack of good strikers,'' said Sirisak.
Adisak Kraisorn and Chananan Pombupha are the only out-and-out strikers in the squad.
"But everybody is ready and looking forward to the tournament. Everybody wants to get good results. Our players are fit and know each other well. Their performances during training also looked good.
"Our target is to do our best as we want to see whether we have improved. We have several important tournaments in the near future."
Meanwhile, Barcelona forward Luis Suarez has been ruled out of playing in the China Cup with Uruguay after spraining his ankle for his club at the weekend.
Suarez, 32, is expected to miss between 10 and 15 days after limping off late in Sunday's 4-1 win at Real Betis in La Liga.
"He will... undertake his recovery with the FC Barcelona medical team, having been withdrawn from the Uruguayan national team squad," the club said in a statement.
Suarez's absence adds to that of Edinson Cavani for Uruguay after the PSG striker failed to shake off a thigh injury for the China trip. bangkok post/afp