Timor Leste skipper Jorge Victor believes attack is the key to a possible upset when the Group B underdogs face defending champions Thailand in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup on Friday.

The 23-year-old defender leads a very young team into action at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. But he insists that they should play to their strengths and try to use their pace in attack to upset the hosts.

“Our strong point is in attack,” said Victor. “We always try to attack first. Our weak point is in defence. We will try and play as much as we can in the Thailand half. When we attack, we are quick.”

The venue holds no fears for Victor despite the fact that this is as tough an opening game as it gets, away to the five-time champions. An appearance at the Asian Games in August and a 2-2 draw in a friendly with Cambodia in October have helped to build confidence and experience. 

And although there has been an enforced change from the original venue of Dili, it is still technically a home game for the visiting side.

“It is our home game but we play in Thailand,” said Victor. “We are the underdog and Thailand are champions. It’s no problem for our team.

“We have had good experience in a camp in Japan. We played in the Asian Games, we played a friendly against Cambodia. Nobody knows what the result will be but we can do our best.”

The Timor Leste squad is young in comparison to many of their Thai opponents, but Victor thinks the team’s togetherness can help them to have a positive experience in a difficult match. 

“Our players are very young and inexperienced,” said Victor. “But we have energy, we communicate well together and have a good team spirit and that should help us in the game.”