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.

“When I looked at the last time we played in the World Cup qualifiers we ended up in the same group as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Thailand so it’s a bit easier but not much because we’ve Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic, who are both strong teams,” said Withe. “It’ll be tough.”

The Indonesians will at least have the backing of the notoriously partisan home support at the intimidating Gelora Bungkarno Stadium – commonly known as the Senayan Stadium – and the coach is banking on the crowd pushing the team towards the knockout phase.

“Senayan will be full, we know that, and hopefully we can drum up enough support from the fans,” said Withe.

“I said at the Tiger Cup that the Senayan has always brought a fear factor for our players and we’re working on the fans supporting us because if we can get that then who knows.

“We realise that we’re playing at home and I emphasised to the federation that it’s important that we prepare the team with the right frame of mind, so they’re going to stop the league to give us enough time to prepare properly.”

Saudi Arabia coach Marcos Paqueta, meanwhile, sees his team’s opening game against fellow World Cup qualifiers Korea Republic as vital to the three-time champions’ hopes of progressing.

“It’s not bad,” said the Brazilian. “Of course, I know Bahrain and Korea is a tough team and we must prepare well for that game because that game will be key for qualifying for the next round.”

Paqueta coached the Saudis at the World Cup finals during the summer and believes his team has built on their performance in Germany despite the loss of key players such as Sami Al Jaber and Mohammed Al Daeyea due to retirement.

“The federation in Saudi Arabia has put their trust in me and we have a plan to work together for four years,” he said. “The key is the young players, they have improved so much and they are very professional. They like to work hard.

“They know what to do in the field and outside the field and from the start of this season everything has gone well. It’s very important because things are changing for Saudi football.

“Now there are more young players coming through like Yasser Qahtani, Hamad Al Montashari and Saleh Bashir and with those payers and others, I think Saudi Arabian football has a big chance.

“Things have improved since the World Cup. We have a group now that has an average age of 25 years, only two or three players are over that age and it’s going well.”