Hanoi: Seven-time champions Thailand will begin their title defence against Timor-Leste in an opening-day Group A encounter at Hang Day Stadium in Hanoi on Sunday.
Thailand will once again be one of the teams to beat and are targeting an unprecedented hat-trick of titles this time round having lifted the trophy in both the 2020 and 2022 editions.
However, this time the Thais will be without their influential trio Teerasil Dangda, Chanathip Songkrasin and Theerathon Bunmathan in what is seemingly a change of the guard with Port FC midfielder Peeradol Chamratsamee set to captain this new-look side.
Head coach Masatada Ishii took over in January and guided them to the Round of 16 of the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar in his first assignment while more recently Thailand won the King’s Cup for the first time in seven years following wins over the Philippines and Syria in Songkhla.
The likes of Suphanat Mueanta, Supachok Sarachat, Ekanit Panya, Jonathan Khemdee and Nicholas Mickelson will be the ones to keep an eye out for as a new crop of players hope to herald the beginning of a new era in Thai football.
On the other hand, Timor-Leste qualified for the group stage after a 1-0 aggregate win against Brunei DS in the Qualification Round playoffs with Paulo Gali scoring the decisive goal.
The Timorese are yet to pick up a single point in the competition’s history with this set to be their fourth group stage appearance and they will face a tall order in their opening match versus the record champions.
However, O Sol Nascente will take inspiration from their recent results which included a 4-3 aggregate win against Mongolia to see them advance to the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, with Joao Pedro scoring a hat-trick in the first leg.
Timor-Leste will be managed by Chilean Simon Elissetche in their return to the group stage with the head coach having extensive experience in Timorese football managing several local clubs since 2016.
Both sides also met on the opening day of the 2020 edition with Thailand emerging victorious 2-0 thanks to goals from Pathompol Charoenrattanapirom and Supachok Sarachat, and come Sunday the War Elephants will be hoping for a similar outcome.
Timor-Leste vs Thailand
Venue: Hang Day Stadium, Hanoi
Kick-off: 8 December, 8:00 PM (Local Time)
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