Having thrashed Indonesia 5-0 in Saturday's (June 13) semi-final, the Thais meet dark horses Myanmar, who stunned hot favourites Vietnam 2-1 in the other semi-final.
After a scintillating performance against the Indonesians, Thailand coach Choketawee Promrut has suggested he is likely to opt for a mostly unchanged starting line-up.
Yesterday (June 14), as the Thai team relaxed by the swimming pool, allowing sore bodies and aching limbs to heal, their coach talked about preparations for today's showpiece event.
Choketawee said: "The players are now looking forward to the match and are confident that they can defend their title. They're fit and ready. Only Arthit Daosawang has a light knee injury but it will not be a problem for tomorrow."
Asked about Myanmar, Choketawee said: "In tomorrow's [today's] match, we would have to play more carefully both in attack and defence.
"The most important thing is that we would have to look out for Myanmar's counter-attacking game. They're very strong on the counter and therefore our defenders must be able to stay focused on the job for the full 90 minutes.
"In attack, we intend to play the same [as against Indonesia], trying to find gaps and to score. If we get an opportunity, it will be vital to take it.
"We believe that Myanmar will play defensively, but we are confident we can win the game."
Myanmar coach Kyi Lwin said: "When I was a player, I lost 4-3 to Thailand in the final of the 1993 SEA Games. This time we are back in the final again and are hoping to get our revenge.
"Thailand are a strong team, but we are not afraid and don't plan on marking any players specifically. We have a couple of important players injured but we have our team captain, Nay Lin Tun, who scored the winning goal against Vietnam in the semi-final, playing striker."
Demand from fans to see the final live has been exceptional – tickets sold out within six hours of going on sale – and will likely turn the venue into a sea of Thai blue and Myanmar red.
Thailand and Myanmar have met two times before in the SEA Games finals, once in 1993 in Singapore where Thailand won 4-3, with current Thai national coach Kiatisak Senamuang scoring the winning goal, and also in 2007 in Nakhon Ratchasima when Thailand beat Myanmar 2-0.
The SEA Games final between Thailand and Myanmar kick offs at 7.30pm and will be shown live on Channels 3 and 7.
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