Thais highly 'motivated'

The War Elephants are eager to showcase their talent once again in their final Asian Cup Group F game against Saudi Arabia Thursday night, said Thailand right wing back Suphanan Burirat.

Thailand have four points from two matches, two behind former champions and group leaders Saudi Arabia.

With the top two teams from each of the six groups and four best third-placed nations making it to the last 16 knockout, the Thais stand a good chance of progressing.

Thailand had a training session as usual on Monday night, but their head coach Masatada Ishii opted to give players involved in a goalless draw with Oman on Sunday night a rest day.

Suphanan told media after the training stint that the War Elephants had an added motivation to perform well against the Saudis.

"We will be playing at a venue [Education City Stadium] that hosted the 2022 Fifa World Cup matches and it would motivate us to impress everyone at the venue," he said. "Playing a strong team like Saudi Arabia is a big motivation in itself for us to perform well.

"Every player is looking forward to the match and we will put in our best effort for sure."

Suphanan added that claiming a point from the match against Oman was a big achievement for the Thais.

"It was a tough game, and we are happy that we could get a point out of it -- a point which has boosted our chances of making it to the knockout of the tournament.

"We have learned to cope with the speed of our opponents, and we are making less mistakes.

"Now that we have a chance to make it to the next stage of the Asian Cup, we need to work even harder and keep our spirits high.

"I am also ready to give my 100 percent if selected by the coach to play against the Saudis."

The match between Thailand and Saudi Arabia will kick off at 10pm.