Charyl Chappuis hasn't guaranteed himself a spot in Thailand's starting team for their AFF Suzuki Cup final, despite a strong second-leg performance off the bench in the 4-0 semifinal victory over Vietnam.
Thai coach Kiatisuk "Zico" Senamuang is keeping his cards close to his chest, ahead of the away-leg of the final against Indonesia on Wednesday.
Chappuis set up Sirod Chatthong's first international goal on Dec. 8 with his first touch after taking over from Sarach Yooyen in the last 15 minutes in Bangkok against Myanmar.
Afterwards, they celebrated Sirod's 24th birthday by smothering him with cake. Like Chappuis, he'd come on in the second half, and made a big impact.
A photo posted by Charyl Chappuis (@charyl10) on
"I cannot say if Chappuis will be in the starting lineup," Kiatisuk told The Bangkok Post. "We will have a few training sessions and we will decide later who starts against the Indonesians."
Swiss-born Chappuis, who was one of the stars of Thailand's 2014 squad, has been in and out of the side since returning from a major knee injury to the international scene in September.
Kiatisuk admitted that he might need to make changes for the finals, due to the fitness concerns surrounding members of his squad. Thailand have played six matches in less than a month, starting with the AFC World Cup qualifier against Australia on Nov. 15.
"We are now in the final, but I am quite worried about our injured players," Kiatisuk said.
"We had to substitute [striker] Teerasil Dangda in the second half [against Myanmar] because he was fouled many times and was bruised. We didn't want to risk him."
#Thailand goalkeeper Kawin Thamsatchanan is expecting a tough challenge from #Indonesia in the #AFFSuzukiCup final... pic.twitter.com/6g9TgK1pDz
- AFF Suzuki Cup (@affsuzukicup) December 9, 2016
Indonesia lost the 2000 and 2002 finals to Thailand, but Kiatisuk is wary about the fearless Merah Putih, despite a 4-2 Group A victory over the underdogs on Nov. 19.
"Indonesia have improved a lot and look like a strong team now," Kiatisak said.
"They were sort of struggling in the first round until their last group match."
The Indonesians haven't looked back since defeating Singapore 2-1 in their final Group B match on Nov. 25. They defeated Vietnam 2-1 on Dec. 3 before a 2-2 draw on Dec. 7 saw them advance to the championship game 4-3 on aggregate.
Indonesia have never won the AFF Championship, losing in four finals. Their most recent stumble at the last hurdle came against Malaysia in 2010. The second leg will be played in Bangkok on Dec. 17, with Thailand hot favourites to win their record fifth AFF title.