Philippines head coach Thomas Dooley reckons his team have the desire to triumph against Thailand when the sides meet in the two-leg semifinal of the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup.
The first leg will take place in Manila at the Rizal Memorial Stadium before the sides meet four days later at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok to decide who goes through to the final.
Dooley's men stormed past Laos (4-1) and Indonesia (4-0) in their opening Group A matches before losing to co-hosts Vietnam (3-1) in the final group game to finish second and set up a clash with a strong Thailand team.
"Thailand play in a similar way to Vietnam and they won't be easy games," Dooley told AFF's official website. "I know how it is as a player when you play a game like that (against Vietnam) and you lose it, you will be hungry again.
"We have a week to rest. I am pretty sure we will perform differently and the team will play to their best.
"Our performances in the first two games were excellent, but against Vietnam, maybe because they were too good or maybe we did not have the drive, we lost."
Come Saturday, Kiatisuk Senamuang's young Thai squad will be the next hurdle for the Azkals, who are hoping to create a piece of history by reaching their first ever Suzuki Cup final. Philippines will need to muster all they have got, having never beaten the Thais in 14 previous outings.
Dooley added: "The semifinal against Thailand is a must win so we have two games where if we perform to our best, we make it happen and I believe in my players that they can do it,
"I think we did not win (against Thailand) in 14 games and we are going to change that."
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The unwanted record dates back to 1972, and with a full house expected at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Phil Younghusband and his teammates will seek to trouble the Thais and give the Azkals fans something to cheer about.
Malaysia hosts Vietnam in the other semifinal with the first leg taking place on Dec. 7, before doing it all again four days later at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.