Defending champions Thailand are ready to take on the Philippines in the AFF Suzuki Cup, national coach Milovan Rajevac said yesterday.
The War Elephants arrived in Manila yesterday and will play the Azkals in Bacolod tomorrow.
"We have studied tapes of their matches and we hope to bring a good result back to Thailand,'' Rajevac said before the team left Bangkok yesterday.
Thailand got off to a perfect start to the 2018 Southeast Asian championship, thrashing Timor Leste 7-0 earlier this month and beating Indonesia 4-2 on Saturday.
Both matches took place at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium.
Thailand and the Philippines, coached by former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, each have six points from two games but the Thais have a better goal difference.
Singapore and Indonesia each have three points while Timor Leste are still looking for their first point.
The top two teams in Group A and Group B advance to the semi-finals of the biennial tournament.
Thailand will have only one official training session in Bacolod today before the match.
But Rajevac said this would not impinge on the War Elephants.
"It won't affect us because we had two training sessions in Thailand,'' said the Serb.
"Also, the weather and other conditions in the Philippines are similar to those in Thailand. We are ready for the match."
Tanaboon Kesarat is nursing a slight injury sustained during the match against Indonesia but Rajevac is confident that the midfielder will be fit to play tomorrow.
Tanaboon insisted the injury is not serious.
"There is nothing to be worried about," Tanaboon said.
"At first, it seemed that I twisted my left knee after being tackled by an Indonesian player. However, I can walk and I should be ready for the game tomorrow."
The Philippines began their campaign with a 1-0 home win against Singapore and then beat Timor Leste 3-2 in Kuala Lumpur Saturday.
