Masatada Ishii has vowed to lead Thailand to King's Cup glory as the tournament kicks off on Friday in Songkhla.
The last time Thailand lifted the prestigious trophy was back in 2017 when they defeated Belarus 5-4 in a penalty shootout at the Rajamangala National Stadium.
The War Elephants will take on the Philippines in a late game at Tinsulanonda Stadium while Syria will play Tajikistan.
The winners will meet in the final on Monday and the losers will play in a third-place playoff on the same day.
"The King's Cup is a prestigious tournament and this year is the 50th anniversary of the competition, so we want to win both matches and win the title," said the Japanese tactician during a pre-match press conference yesterday.
"We will play the Philippines in the first match. They are a strong team but our players have been training very hard for this tournament and have done their homework very well.
Ishii brushed aside concerns about the weather conditions, insisting that the players will be able to adjust to them.
"We cannot control the weather but the players will have to adjust to any playing conditions. However, I hope there's no rain so that the team can play good football for the fans," he added.
Centre-back Elias Dolah cannot wait to begin his King's Cup quest as he returned to where it all began for him as a professional footballer in Thailand.
"I feel really honoured to have an opportunity to come here [Songkhla] and play in the King's Cup. This is the place where I started playing football in Thailand," said Elias, who spent two seasons with Songkhla FC before earning his first national call-up.
"There are several new faces in the national team after the World Cup qualification round, but I believe in this team, and hopefully, we will win the trophy.
"I hope fans from Songkhla, Satun, Yala and Pattani and the other provinces will come to the game and support the team as we try to win the King's Cup this year," added Elias, who is currently playing with Bali United in the Indonesian league.
Thai football chief Nualphan Lamsam said the support from the locals could play a key role in Thailand's victory today.
"Philippines have a lot of mixed-race players who are playing in Europe and in the Thai League and they also have a new head coach. But with our preparation and the support from Songkhla's fans, we can reach the final," said Nualphan.
Philippines coach Albert Capellas believed it would be an exciting competition.
"My team have prepared well for this competition. We know the Thai team are strong in both attacking and defending but my team have good players too. It will be an exciting game," said Capellas.
"Hopefully there's no rain tomorrow and we will try to do our best to win the game," he added.
Philippines midfielder John Patrick Straub expected strong support from local fans tomorrow.
"I'm sure that there will be a lot of Thai fans at the game but we will try to do our best tomorrow," said the Muang Thong United player.
The Thailand v Philippines game, which kicks off at 8pm, will be shown live on Thai Rath TV.
