Thailand face an uphill battle against South Korea in their last Group C game at the AFC U23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan tonight.
With Vietnam expected to beat already-eliminated Malaysia in the other Group C match, the young War Elephants need a result against the defending champions to reach the quarter-finals.
Thailand and South Korea each have four points, two ahead of Vietnam, while Malaysia are still looking for their first point of the tournament.
But fate is in Thailand’s hands as they need just a draw to advance.
Thailand and South Korea have identical points and goal difference (5-2) but a stalemate would see the Thais finish above the Koreas due to their better disciplinary points.
However, a draw would see both teams through if Vietnam fail to beat Malaysia in the simultaneous kick-off.
While Thailand head coach Worrawoot Srimaka would welcome Malaysia doing his team a favour, his focus remains on his team.
“I hope Malaysia will win their match against Vietnam as that will put us in a good position. I know they will fight to earn the first three points against Vietnam,” said Worrawoot.
“However, we are confident of what we can do in our game against South Korea.” Thailand’s strike force will be led by redhot Suphanat Mueanta, who have scored three goals in the tournament.
The Buriram United striker scored a last-gasp goal in their 2-2 draw with Vietnam and two in their 3-0 victory against Malaysia.
South Korea opened their campaign with a 4-1 win over Malaysia, but a 1-1 draw with Vietnam has placed their title defence in danger.
Coach Hwang Sun-Hong, however, believes his players will deliver with Cho Young-Wook, who has already scored three goals, leading their challenge.
“We don’t want this to be our last match of the competition,” said Hwang. “I have thought of many things [to improve] but at this point, I just want to say that we will do our best to win the game.
“He [Cho] has some physical problems because he played a lot of matches in the domestic league and is exhausted. So I’m trying to control his play time. Nevertheless, it’s really positive that he scored in two consecutive matches, and I want him to recover quickly so that he can play more.”