Thailand may be missing many of their key players but they remain confident of kicking off the defence of their Asean championship title with a victory over Timor Leste at Hang Day Stadium in Vietnam Sunday night.
With the domestic league matches still on, Thailand have not been able to select some of the top players for their Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup opener.
Thailand head coach Masatada Ishii told a pre-match press conference on Saturday that the War Elephants were keen to defend their Asean football crown.
"We may not have the full squad but we are confident and we have prepared the team well," said the Japanese coach.
"I believe that every player is ready for the game against Timor Leste.
"We have had some problems in the build-up to this tournament, but we don't expect these to have a major impact.
"We have some new players in the team, so our priority has always been to pick players who could adapt to our tactics.
"We have to start building a strong team for the future assignments, so I hope that this Asean tournament will help the new players learn the tactics and carry the knowledge to the upcoming events."
Ishii added that the target is to defend the title.
"Each country has prepared its team differently," said Ishii. "We still have the domestic competition going, so we could not select all the players we wanted to be in the team. Indonesia are also relying on their U23 side for the same reason.
"But we are the defending champions and we are expected to defend the title.
"We want to win every match that we play in this tournament and take the trophy back to Thailand. But most importantly, I want this team to improve during the course of the Asean championship."
Thailand defender Pansa Hemviboon said: "At the beginning, we may not have the full squad, but soon some more players will join the team.
"The players in the team have already started to learn the tactics of coach Ishii which may take some time.
"I think as long as we are able to understand each other during the game we shall be okay against Timor Leste."
The match will be broadcast live on Thai Rath TV (32), AIS Play and BG Sports YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Ratchaburi centre-back Jonathan Khemdee has expressed his joy at being selected for the Asean championship.
"I'm very excited to get the chance to play for the Thai national team in the Asean championship, which is a prestigious tournament and many people in Thailand expect us to win the title," said Jonathan.
"I'm just happy to have my name on the final list and I'm ready to go out and play for the War Elephants.
"I relish playing under pressure. If you want to be a big player, you must learn how to perform under pressure."
Thailand are in Group A along with Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Timor Leste.
They will be up against 2010 champions Malaysia at Rajamangala National Stadium next before a trip to Singapore and a home match against Cambodia.
With the domestic league matches still on, Thailand have not been able to select some of the top players for their Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup opener.
Thailand head coach Masatada Ishii told a pre-match press conference on Saturday that the War Elephants were keen to defend their Asean football crown.
"We may not have the full squad but we are confident and we have prepared the team well," said the Japanese coach.
"I believe that every player is ready for the game against Timor Leste.
"We have had some problems in the build-up to this tournament, but we don't expect these to have a major impact.
"We have some new players in the team, so our priority has always been to pick players who could adapt to our tactics.
"We have to start building a strong team for the future assignments, so I hope that this Asean tournament will help the new players learn the tactics and carry the knowledge to the upcoming events."
Ishii added that the target is to defend the title.
"Each country has prepared its team differently," said Ishii. "We still have the domestic competition going, so we could not select all the players we wanted to be in the team. Indonesia are also relying on their U23 side for the same reason.
"But we are the defending champions and we are expected to defend the title.
"We want to win every match that we play in this tournament and take the trophy back to Thailand. But most importantly, I want this team to improve during the course of the Asean championship."
Thailand defender Pansa Hemviboon said: "At the beginning, we may not have the full squad, but soon some more players will join the team.
"The players in the team have already started to learn the tactics of coach Ishii which may take some time.
"I think as long as we are able to understand each other during the game we shall be okay against Timor Leste."
The match will be broadcast live on Thai Rath TV (32), AIS Play and BG Sports YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Ratchaburi centre-back Jonathan Khemdee has expressed his joy at being selected for the Asean championship.
"I'm very excited to get the chance to play for the Thai national team in the Asean championship, which is a prestigious tournament and many people in Thailand expect us to win the title," said Jonathan.
"I'm just happy to have my name on the final list and I'm ready to go out and play for the War Elephants.
"I relish playing under pressure. If you want to be a big player, you must learn how to perform under pressure."
Thailand are in Group A along with Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Timor Leste.
They will be up against 2010 champions Malaysia at Rajamangala National Stadium next before a trip to Singapore and a home match against Cambodia.
