After Thailand's convincing 3-0 victory over North Korea on Friday night, coach Milovan Rajevac is expecting his men to retain the King's Cup, but the Serb veteran warned the local fans not to expect another spectacle of "beautiful football" in the final on Sunday.
The War Elephants take on world No.71 Belarus, who beat 44th-ranked Burkina Faso 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out following a goalless tie on Friday at Rajamangala National Stadium.
In the King's Cup, no extra-time is allotted in case of a draw at the end of regulation time.
In a remarkable performance against the mighty North Koreans, world No.131 Thailand saw Mongkol Thossakrai and Thittipan Puangchan score goals and Teerathep Winothai convert a penalty in injury time.
The title showdown between the defending champions and Belarus kicks off at 7.30pm, while the third place play-off between Burkina Faso and North Korea is scheduled to start at 4.30pm at the same venue. Both matches will be live on Thai Rath TV.
Rajevac said at a pre-match conference on Saturday that he is an admirer of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
"My philosophy is the same as Mourinho: You don't have to play beautiful football in every match," said Rajevac.
"Whatever our tactics are for the final match, we should regard it as a big success if we are able to keep the King's Cup trophy in the country."
Rajevac added: "The game with the North Korean team was not easy at all. They are a strong team but we raised our standard.
"We also watched the match between Burkina Faso and Belarus. Both teams are good and and the match was finally decided in a penalty shoot-out.
"I have worked in Africa and I think Burkina Faso played good football.
"Belarus should be congratulated on their victory. They also beat Bulgaria recently. They have some good rising stars with a bright future.
"We played against a strong team like North Korea who have fit players, who could play with the same tempo throughout the match.
"During the first half, we had a few lucky escapes and it helped that we scored goals towards the end of the first half which made life easier for us in the second half.
Commenting on tonight's final, Rajevac said: "Now we have to focus on the final with Belarus.
"The stadium would have been used for three games in a short time by the time we take the field tomorrow night. The pitch will be softer and the players would need to have more stamina to last the duration of the match.
"Fitness will be the key and I believe that all four teams will be paying a lot emphasis on it. To do well in the final, we would have to be very fit."
Thailand midfielder Mongkol Thossakrai added at the news conference that it would be a good idea to let the players "have a long rest".
He said: "We are now ready for the final match. We realise that the Thai fans enjoyed our performance against North Korea but they will truly be happy when we win the trophy. We will be trying our best to make them happy."
Belarus coach Igor Kriushenko said: "Yesterday's result was pleasing to us. Burkina Faso played a good game but made a few mistakes which made them lose in the penalty shoot-out.
"We also watched Thailand play against North Korea yesterday. They have many good players, especially their goalkeeper [Kawin Thamsatchanan].
"I can't comment much on the final as I need to watch more tapes of the Thai team to work out a plan."
Thailand's Thitipan Puangchan, centre, in action against North Korea.