Thai fans will be biting their nails in nervous anticipation as the Elephants face their first major tests since German coach Winnie Schafer took over the national team. Two 2014 World Cup Qualifiers are to be played on Friday and Tuesday as the AFC group stages get underway. Thailand’s reward for squeezing through the previous knockout round against Palestine was to be drawn in a very tough group alongside Oman, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

First up for Thailand is what will probably be their most difficult match of the campaign: Australia, away. Realistically, Schaefer will be plotting Thailand’s progress to the final group stage based on the assumption that Thailand will very likely lose in Brisbane on Friday night. Anything else would be a minor miracle. Nevertheless, a match against the team ranked second in Asia in front of up to 50,000 fans should be a great spectacle, and will show us just how far Team Thai has progressed since the end of the depressingly stagnant Bryan Robson era.

Thailand are expected to line up in a 4-5-1 formation with Muangthong’s Teerasil Daengda as the lone striker as they attempt to stifle Australia in midfield. The match also represents a battle off the pitch as both teams are coached by Germans: Schaefer, of course, for the Thais and Holger Osieck for the Aussies. It’s not too late to catch a flight to Brisbane to watch the match, but if you don’t have the time (or the money) then you could always watch it on TV! NBT 11 are showing the match live and kick off is at 5pm on Friday.

Just four days after their ‘Mission: Improbable’ in Australia, the national team play their second qualifier here in Bangkok. Oman provide the opposition on Tuesday at the Rajamangala Stadium on Tuesday for a match which, in contrast to the Australia game, is a ‘must win’ for Schaefer’s men. Oman are the second-lowest-ranked side in the group, after Thailand, so the Thais have to take 4-6 points from their two games against them. The game will also be televised, but do your best to get along to the stadium on Tuesday. Tickets start at just 100 baht – cheaper than certain TPL clubs – and the match gets underway at the rather unhelpful time of 6pm, showing the Thai FA hasn’t changed.