Kiatisuk, Thailand’s most capped footballer, retired from the national team after Thailand’s disappointing 2006 World Cup campaign, which included a shock 4-1 home defeat to DPR Korea and some very public criticism from then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"After 2004, I thought I would never be back in the national team but things have changed and I am here again," the 33-year-old, who has made 117 appearances for his country, said to Today newspaper.

“It's been so long since I played for the national team, in front of the Thai football fans. I wonder if they still remember me."

Zico was Thailand’s most influential footballer of his generation leading the Thais to glory in the 1996, 2000 and 2002 ASEAN Football Federation Championships and became the first player from his country to play in England when he spent the 2001 season with Bury.

After a spell in the S-League with Singapore Armed Forces, Zico joined the mini exodus of Thai footballers to Vietnam, joining Hoang Anh Gia Lai where he was twice named the V-League’s best foreign player.

And with the Thailand national team having struggled in recent years fans will be hoping that the return of the back-flipping golden boy of Thai football can galvanise the side ahead of the AFF Championship and more significantly the Asian Cup, where the hosts will face Australia, Iraq and Oman.

"I don't know what I will do next but we will see. The Asian Cup is a great tournament and I would really love to be part of it but of course, it all depends on the coach," added Kiatisuk, who has already suggested he has not lost the scoring touch after finding the net in the national team’s 4-0 win over Thailand Tobacco Monopoly on Tuesday

Thailand go into the 36th edition of the King’s Cup looking to win the annual competition for the first time since defeating Finland in 2000 and their chances were given a boost after it was announced that influential attacker Thach Bao Khanh, Vietnam’s joint leading scorer at the last AFF Championship, has not recovered from a knock he picked up at the Asian Games and will not feature on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in the King’s Cup opener ASEAN champions Singapore take on former AFC member Kazakhstan, who will be playing Asian opposition for the third time this year having defeated Tajikistan 4-1 in July after going down 2-0 to Jordan in February.