Prior to the annual competition, the Football Association of Thailand decided to revert to the services of ageing players such as the evergreen forward Kiartisak "Zico" Senamueng, widely regarded as the country's most prolific striker, for the big tournaments next year, including the 2007 Asian Cup final which will be co-hosted by Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The move had a positive effect not only on the pitch as Chanwit Pholchivin's revamped side, a blend of experienced and young players, played more purposefully and enthusiastically against old foes Vietnam on Sunday. Off the field, thousands of fans flocked to see their team win 2-1 in an atmosphere rarely seen in years.

Although the Vietnamese reduced the boisterous fans to silence with a surprise lead, Chanwit's men regrouped to stage a storming comeback to seal the win, courtesy of Sarayuth Chaikumdee, who justified his tag "Jo five-yard" with another close-range effort and a well-taken strike by Datsakorn.

The result put Thailand at the top of the standings as in the other match of the day, Kazakhstan were held to a goal-less draw by Singapore.

Having watched them play against the European side, Chanwit, the national team's head coach, admitted he was quite concerned about Singapore which has many foreign players. He predicted the game would be close and could go either way.

"They are a strong team because this side is being prepared for the World Cup 2010. There are nine foreign players in their team, the latest one from China. Given that we have just trained together, the game should be very tight," Chanwit said.

"Their strength is in the defence as their players can cover the area very well. That means it will be difficult for us to penetrate through the middle. Besides, we have to be careful about their counter-attack as they play quickly and effectively. I think we have an equal chance to win. It will depend on who takes their chances better."

Chanwit is sweating on the fitness of key midfield player Datsakorn who picked up an injury in the opening match. Should Datsakorn fail to recover, Hatthaporn Suwan who did a good job during the recent Asian Games in Qatar would fill in.

The match between Thailand and Singapore will take place at Suphachalasai stadium. The admission fee is Bt50, Bt100 and Bt200. Channel 7 will televise the game live from 7pm.