Soccer-Thais hope to make splash at maiden World Cup

By John O'Brien BANGKOK, June 2 (Reuters) - Thailand will be happy just to be competing at a maiden World Cup when they open their campaign with a daunting tie against Norway but the War Elephants can also hope to head home with at least one victory. The Thais booked their ticket to Canada as the fifth place team at last year's Asian Cup and will be looking to build on a recent regional tournament win when they face the world's elite. At 29, Thailand are one of the lowest-ranked sides in the June 6-July 5 tournament and face a tough task to get anything from Group B matches against European powerhouses Norway and two-time champions Germany. However, should they enjoy a win over 67th-ranked Ivory Coast in their other pool game, they could reach the round of 16 as one of the four best third place sides at the 24-team event. The prospect of making the second round of the sport's premier competition would have been unthinkable a few years ago but Thailand are a well-drilled team, who are familiar with each other and play a quick-tempo short-passing game. Kanjana Sungngoen scored twice in the monumental win over Vietnam to put Thailand into the finals but is not looking too far ahead. "It's already beyond overwhelming to have the chance to participate in the World Cup. We will do our best without pressuring ourselves too hard," she said. Thailand were once a regional powerhouse, winning the Asian Cup in 1983 on home soil before drifting into relative obscurity until last year's fifth-place finish ended an 11-tournament run of failures or non qualification. The current squad have grown up together and have always been successful in Southeast Asia and head to North America as ASEAN champions buoyed by their good form after they edged out Myanmar 3-2 in the final in Vietnam last month. But Nuengrutai Srathonvian, who became the nation's first female coach when she took over from Jatuporn Pramualban last year, admits the side will need to work harder if they are to enjoy any success in Canada. "(The title) boosted the team's confidence. From now on, we have to work on a lot of things in order to compete at the top level at the World Cup," she added. "We are unfortunate to be in an extremely strong group but we'll try to achieve our target by beating at least Ivory Coast." (Editing by Frank Pingue)