Thailand v Australia: World Cup 2018 qualifying – live! | Football

6.33am EST 06:33

The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej provides a sombre backdrop to this match. There were suggestions shortly after the king’s death that the game could be postponed, or played behind closed doors while the country embarked on a significant period of mourning. The game is going ahead as planned but fans are unlikely to behave as exuberantly as they otherwise might and the team will doubtless pay its respects at the appropriate time.

6.26am EST 06:26

Australia XI

As expected, Jamie Maclaren leads the line for Australia tonight, a huge responsibility in just his second start for the Socceroos. Let’s hope he plays like a number 9, and not the number 4 that will be on his back.

Postecoglou will send his team out in a 4-3-3. This is good news for fans of attacking width and means the starting 11 pretty much picks itself with perhaps Milos Degenek’s return at right back the only standout. I would not be averse to seeing Craig Goodwin make an appearance off the bench.

6.25am EST 06:25

Thailand XI

6.20am EST 06:20

Don’t forget you can join in the fun by emailing jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com or tweeting @JPHowcroft. The occasional nudge at the very least would be welcomed, as it will be past midnight by the time this thing ends and I’m normally in my jim-jams by now dreaming about scoring the winner in an FA Cup final.

5.31am EST 05:31

Preamble

Jonathan Howcroft

Evening all, and welcome to The Guardian’s live coverage of Australia’s visit to Thailand as the Socceroos continue their quest to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Kick off tonight is 11pm AEST, plenty of time to grab some final glimpses of the supermoon, pour yourself a caffeinated beverage, and thank your lucky stars you’re not Simon Hill and responsible for pronouncing a squad full of polysyllabic War Elephants in real time.

This is matchday five of the third qualifying phase in the Asian Football Confederation. 12 teams remain, split into two groups of six, with the top pair in each guaranteed a trip to Putinville. The third-placed team in each group will be put through a playoff.

Australia currently lie second in Group B, two points behind Saudi Arabia, one ahead of Japan, and two ahead of the UAE. Realistically, these are the only four teams in contention with Iraq gaining just three points from four matches and Thailand none.

All of which means tonight is a must-win game for Ange Postecoglou. As promising as Thailand are, this stage of qualifying is a new frontier for this generation and four consecutive defeats indicates they should be no match for the Asian Cup holders.

Proclaiming such confidence and expectation in the Socceroos might feel unfamiliar, but it’s a natural development of the status of the team on the world stage under Postecoglou. There should be no false modesty or jinx risking by stating Australia should take the field at the Rajamangala Stadium unburdened by favouritism. Postecoglou has set high standards since he took over the reins, reinforcing that he’s not trying to qualify simply to make up the numbers in Russia but to win the whole shebang. We all need to adjust our horizons accordingly.

The trip to Bangkok has been affected by the recent death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol. The country remains in a state of mourning but the game will go ahead as planned although with Thai supporters expected to be in muted tones.

Australia’s squad lacks some familiar names, especially in the forward line, with much expected of Brisbane Roar’s Jamie Maclaren in the absence of Tim Cahill and Tomi Juric.

These teams have met five times in the past, with Australia winning each at an aggregate of 13-1. They last met exactly five years ago when a late Brett Holman winner spared Holger Osieck’s blushes.