After his strongest XI had racked up three consecutive wins in their previous games against Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Philippines, Thailand coach Alexandre Polking opted to give his fringe players a game for Saturday's final Group A tie against Singapore -- with his team's place in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 semifinals already secured.
And in what will be a frightening prospect for whoever they meet in the last four, Thailand's second-string outfit not only claimed a 2-0 win that was enough to guarantee top spot but did so with absolute ease, highlighting the impressive depth at Polking's disposal.
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Despite starting with a completely different eleven from their previous outing, and with star men Chanathip Songkrasin and Theerathon Bunmathan left out completely, the Thais dominated Singapore from start to finish and never looked in danger of relinquishing a two-goal lead at halftime courtesy of goals from Elias Dolah and Supachai Jaided.
Dolah may have made an impact at the attacking end but he was also outstanding in his primary role in the heart of defence, combining well with Pawee Tanthatemee, to completely nullify any threat the Singapore attack could muster.
Making his international debut, Weerathep Pomphan hardly put a foot wrong in the engine room, while Supachai -- arguably the one player who started on Saturday that could realistically stake a claim to being part of Thailand's strongest XI -- led the line strongly in place of Teerasil Dangda, who on Wednesday had just become the tournament's all-time top scorer on 19 goals.
"I'm really happy and proud of the players. Today is a victory for all our players," said Polking.
"When I took over the job, I said this is an amazing job because I knew so many good players in Thailand from my time against them as a club coach, and I can know choose all of them and play them together.
"All the players are getting the results of the work they put in and I'm very happy with the result and the strategy we have taken."
While the display highlighted the plethora of options available to Polking, it also raises a headache -- albeit one that he should welcome -- when it comes to picking his side for Thursday's semi-final first leg, with their opponents to be determined after Sunday's final Group B games.
Regardless of who he sends out, Polking is aware that in spite of how they have impressed in the group stage, it will count for nothing if they do not continue to march on in search of a record 6th title.
"All the players showed they're ready to play. Anyone can be replaced," added Polking.
"12 points from four games gives us a nice feeling, but we know that means nothing from tomorrow. If we don't win in the semifinals, who will care about what happened in the group stage?
"It's all about keeping the focus and continuing to work hard."