Igor Stimac’s Blue Tigers play Thailand in their final match of the King’s Cup at the Chang Arena in Buriram on Saturday, June 8. The fixture will decide which team finishes in third place after both sides lost their opening matches to Curacao and Vietnam respectively. The match will also be an opportunity for Stimac to finetune the young squad, which, despite the 3-1 loss, looked quite impressive in the second half against Curacao.

The India vs Thailand clash will be a throwback to the AFC Asian Cup 2019 from a few months back. The Blue Tigers shocked Thailand and registered a historic 4-1 win when they met in the continental showpiece. The previous result gives Saturday's match substantial pretext, as India will look for a repeat performance while Thailand will be in the pursuit of redemption.

India

Stimac's first match in charge of the Indian national team didn't quite turn out to be the fairytale beginning everyone would have hoped for. A much fitter and technically better Curacao outfit outplayed Sunil Chhetri and Co. and highlighted the amount of work needed for India to reach the level they so aspire to. Nonetheless, it was not all doom and gloom for Stimac and the Indian team.

The Croatian head coach handed debuts to six players in the match and had encouraging results, particularly from the likes of Amarjit Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Raynier Fernandes and Brandon Fernandes. Their decision-making skills still need some polishing, but the youngsters exhibited fearless football whenever they were on the ball. Veteran striker Chhetri, once again, found the back of the net and was his usual dangerous self in the final third.

While the forward line looked relatively adept, Stimac will surely be worried about the defensive frailties. The entire India backline had a nightmare against the pace and precision of the Curacao attack in the first half as Sandesh Jhingan and Co. were repeatedly caught ball watching. The midfield couldn’t provide much cover either with Pronay Halder trying and failing to do justice to the enforcer role. The midfield did look much more mobile and compact with the introduction of Amarjit and Raynier in the second half and it won't be surprising if Stimac opts to start with the two on Saturday.

The Thailand encounter will be another stern examination of India's defence, although the Blue Tigers can take some confidence from the fact that they beat the War Elephants when the two teams met the last time in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Chhetri scored two, while Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua both grabbed a goal apiece as they beat the Thai unit 4-1.

Thailand

The War Elephants were only undone by a cruel 95th-minute strike by Nguyen Anh Duc in their first King’s Cup match against Vietnam on Wednesday. They were in the match for large parts and probably deserved to at least take the match into extra-time, if not penalties.

Nonetheless, interim boss Sirisak Yodyardthai’s men are still a dangerous proposition and will be keen not to lose their second match in succession at home. They still boast a formidable lineup possessing quality players like Theerathon Bunmathan, Thitipan Puangchan, etc. Thailand will, however, be without star forward Chanathip Songkrasin, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a muscle tear.

Veteran striker Teerasil Dangda was an unused substitute in the loss to Vietnam but might get the opportunity to earn his 100th international cap against India on Saturday. The 31-year-old has scored 43 goals for his country and was the lone player to find the back of the net for the War Elephants in the 4-1 loss to India back in January.

What to expect?

Despite not being in the best of forms and missing the talismanic Songkrasin, Thailand cannot be taken lightly by any stretch of imagination. The War Elephants play an aggressive brand of football and will have the extra motivation of not finishing dead last in the tournament on their home soil. The battle may very well be decided in the midfield and with Sirisak preferring a 3-4-3 formation, the Indian midfielders can expect to find themselves outnumbered at the middle of the park for large periods of the match. Taking advantage of the ball retaining capabilities of the likes of Sahal and Raynier in high-pressure situations may turn out to be crucial for the Blue Tigers.

Thailand's defence is vulnerable from set-pieces, as showcased during the match against Vietnam and India need to focus on taking full advantage of the dead ball situations whenever possible.

Catch the match live on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar at 2:00 PM.