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Published on December 26, 2007

Luck appeared on Chanvit Pholchivin's side in their first two matches of the round-robin stage, in which defender Natthaporn Panlit first scored the winner at the death to edge Uzbekistan 3-2, before a late own goal handed them a fortunate 2-1 victory over Asian champions Iraq on Monday.

Heading into the last-round fixtures, Thailand top the standings and are assured of qualification, leaving the other three teams to fight for a spot in the final.

Even though the game appears meaningless, Chanvit insisted his men would take it seriously against North Korea, who have just one point and do not have much chance of

progressing.

"Of course, we'll play to our maximum against the Koreans. We want to complete a clean sweep. More importantly, we need to prepare the team for the World Cup qualifiers," Chanvit said.

The game against the Koreans, one of the continent's leading nations, will present an excellent opportunity to test our players," the coach said.

However, Chanvit intends to rotate his team by handing his fringe players a chance to prove that they deserve a spot in the squad before Thailand start their group stage campaign of the World Cup qualifying round next year.

"We'll give the lads, who so far have not played much, a start tomorrow. Only Nirut [Surasiang] and Narongchai [Vachiraban] who figured in the first two matches, would retain their places in the midfield," Chanvit revealed.

According to Chanvit, Thailand would play in a 4-3-3 formation, with Teeratep "Leesaw" Winothai, Suriya Doamthaisong and Pipat Thonkanya forming a three-prong attack.

Manchester City-bound Suree Sukha will start at right-back for the first time after shaking off his hamstring injury.

The Thailand-North Korea game will follow the vital clash between Uzbekistan and Iraq.

Iraq, who are second in the table with three points, will qualify if they beat Uzbekistan.

Tickets priced at Bt100, Bt200 and Bt500 are available at the venue, Rajamangala National Stadium. Channel 7 will televise the game from 6.45pm.

The Nation