“That was an unforgettable game against Saudi Arabia, and to go to the Olympics,” said Nishino, who also led Japan’s senior team at the FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia in 2018. “For me it was an unforgettable game and I wish we could do the same with Thailand.

“Saudi Arabia used to have a traditional style using strength and speed, but recently they have been changing to a more modern style, they have improved and what we have to do is enhance our strengths against Saudi Arabia.

“We have ability and home advantage and I keep telling the players to be confident in that.”

Nishino’s team will be backed by a sold-out Thammasat Stadium and the former Gamba Osaka coach is hoping his players can use the home support to compensate for a lack of exposure to the international game outside the Southeast Asian region to make an even greater impact on the tournament.

“To be honest, this team doesn’t have much experience and they only have experience at Asean level not international level, so in this tournament I’m a little worried,” he said.

“But each player has potential and they have been proving that. I believe they can do more but at this moment we are doing what we can do. They’re doing what we’ve been working on in training.”

Saudi Arabia will go into the game as favourites having topped a demanding Group B ahead of Syria, Qatar and Japan but head coach Saad Al Shehri knows his side face a major challenge against the hosts. He is confident, however, that his players are well enough equipped to handle the task at hand.

“I think we have a difficult match,” he said. “We will play against the home team and they have had one day more rest than us. Also they have a good coach and because they came through a good group to qualify we must be ready and prepare our team mentally, tactically and physically for this game. We hope we can get through to the next round.

“The players must be relaxed and play. They have good experience because sometimes in Saudi Arabia they play with 60,000 or 70,000 in support. It’s important we’re more concentrated on the game, especially at the start, and after that we wish we can make a good game and a good result.”

Players to watch

Fixture
Saudi Arabia vs Thailand
Venue: Thammasat Stadium
Kick-off: 17:15 (UTC +7)