Thailand coach Worrawoot Srimak hailed his young War Elephants for producing an outstanding display in their 3-0 defeat of Malaysia in Group C to stay on course for a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan on Sunday.
Suphanat Mueanta scored twice with Channarong Promsrikaew adding the third at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent.
Thailand and South Korea each have four points, two ahead of Vietnam, while Malaysia have been eliminated.
But with Vietnam holding defending champions South Korea to a 1-1 draw earlier on Sunday, Thailand still have a mountain to climb to reach the knockout stages with the top two teams in each of the four groups advancing to the last eight.
Thailand face a winner-takes-all clash with South Korea on Wednesday when the Vietnamese meet Malaysia.
"Our players have been performing well under pressure. It was a good game against Malaysia and this win is for the players, staff and everyone involved in the development of this team," Worrawoot said.
"Our success today is not a secret. I would have to say that it was a collective effort from both the players and the coaching staff. Both parties have a good working relationship.
"We are confident of what we can do in our game against South Korea."
Suphanat is one of the stars of the tournament so far. He also scored a last-gasp goal in their 2-2 draw with Vietnam in their opening match.
"I am very happy for scoring three goals in two matches," said Buriram United forward Suphanat. "We want to qualify for the next phase and we must do our best in the next game for a chance to reach the knockout round."
