The former Argentina striker is hoping to mastermind Oman's qualification from the group stages for the first time in their history, and they made a strong start with an unexpected 1-1 draw against favourites Australia on Sunday.

But Thailand will be no pushovers after they earned a 1-1 draw against Iraq in the opening game of the competition on Saturday.

Chanvit Polchovin's side were quick on the ball in that match and were the better side in the second half, prompting Calderon to adopt a cautious tone.

He said: "The players are more confident than before but we have no time to relax, we are playing three finals and we have only played one. There are still two more to come.

"It is always difficult to beat the home team especially when in front of a big crowd but I hope we will win so that we will be in a good position to qualify.

"I think the key is not to give the Thai players space as they are dangerous in this kind of situation."

Calderon has six players receiving treatment for cramp and will wait on a medical report before deciding whether they will feature.

He explained: "We have no injuries but we have six players who are suffering from cramp. They are under treatment at the moment but they will most likely be ready for the game.

"We are at a bit of a disadvantage because the Thailand players have had one more rest day, we don't know yet how the players suffering from cramp will respond to the treatment but hopefully everyone will be ready for the game."

Meanwhile, Thailand coach Chanvit has not been so lucky on the injury front, with three players a doubt for the game at Rajamangala stadium.

"We will try our best for our second match against Oman but we have a few players who are carrying injuries," he said.

"Jetsada Jitsawad has a thigh muscle injury and hasn't trained for the past two days while strikers Pipat Tonkanya and Teerasil Dangda both have ankle injuries but have resumed light training.

"If Jetsada can't play we have a couple of players who can cover his position but I will emphasise that a decision won't be made until later this [Wednesday] evening."

Chanvit believes the outcome of the clash will play a large part in deciding who will progress beyond the group stage and has confessed he will look to fellow co-hosts Indonesia and Vietnam for inspiration to get a result.

He continued: "The second match is often the most important and both teams know that they really have to play to win.

"I have told my players to turn the pressure into determination and have emphasised that they have to do their very best in order to win.

"I looked at the Indonesia and the Vietnam games and the quality of the teams is not so different.

"Vietnam and Indonesia did a good job in taking their chances and we will try to do the same.

"Each team in the group has one point so the game will be very tense."