Thailand coach Miyo Okamoto is confident the Chaba Kaew will qualify for their third straight Fifa Women's World Cup.
However, Okamato stressed at a pre-match news conference in Mumbai, India, on Thursday that it was important for the Thai women's team to get off to winning start against the Philippines in their AFC Women's Asian Cup opener on Saturday.
"We have been training together for quite a long time and the players can easily replace one another, so we plan to send the best players in each game," said Okamoto.
"We know that the first game is very important for our team. Therefore, we must try everything that we can and hope to have a good result from the first game.
"Some of the players in this team have been to the World Cup finals already so they have the needed confidence. Our only goal in this tournament is to qualify for the World Cup finals," said Okamoto.
Chaba Kaew skipper Silawan Intamee added that the players were eager to qualify for the World Cup finals.
"We have been studying the Philippines team's style and tactics for quite sometime and we have also taken care of own mistakes," said Silawan.
"If we could pick up three points from the first match, it will make our team's confidence grow and also improve our chances of qualifying for the next round."
The Chaba Kaew play the Philippines in Mumbai tomorrow at 7pm, Thai time.
The top two teams in each group plus two best third-place side will reach the quarter-finals.
The top-five teams plus co-hosts Australia will represent Asia at the 2023 World Cup. New Zealand will also be hosting some matches.
Additionally, two sides from the Women's Asian Cup will enter the 10-team play-off tournament which offers three more spots in the finals.
