Thailand captain Sunisa Srangthaisong looks ahead to France 2019

Thai pop sensation Thongchai ‘Bird’ McIntyre invited team on stage during concert

Skipper says Thailand have been keeping an eye on opponents through social media It is not every day you get to go and watch one of the biggest popstars in your home country and then get invited on stage. But that was the reality for Thailand women’s national team players when they joined one of the country’s biggest popstars Thongchai ‘Bird’ McIntyre on stage during a performance in Bangkok last month. Members of the team were invited to join the Thai pop sensation to be part of his show and promote their appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, thanks in part to general manager of the team, Nualphan Lamsam, who reached out to McIntyre. The squad was aware that the star, who has sold over 25 million albums, wanted them on stage beforehand, and had rehearsed the moment earlier in the day. Skipper Sunisa Srangthaisong, who will lead her team into a World Cup for the first time, said it was an exciting moment for the players, but one that earlier in the day, made them feel very nervous.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻เสียงปรบมือแห่งกำลังใจ .... ความในใจของทีมฟุตบอลหญิงทีมชาติไทย ที่มี “มาดามแป้ง” นวลพรรณ ล่ำซำ ผู้จัดการทีม เป็นตัวแทนบอกต่อให้กับแฟนเพลงของพี่เบิร์ดกว่า 10,000 คนในอิมแพ็ค อารีนา ได้ฟัง ในคอนเสิร์ตแบบเบิร์ด เบิร์ด โชว์ ครั้งที่ 11 รอบวันที่ 23 มีนาคม ที่ผ่านมา Posted by ฟุตบอลหญิงทีมชาติไทย ชุดใหญ่ on Sunday, 24 March 2019

"We were really excited to be performing with the number one singer of Thailand," she said. “We were nervous about messing up, but after the rehearsal, we were relieved to perform. "When we were on the stage, we understood how he brought the fans together. We knew from that day that we're not nervous anymore. We enjoyed the concert and enjoyed the fans making us feel more powerful. Going to the World Cup, we are going to see a lot of fans. We hope they can give us that same power.” Thailand made their debut at a World Cup four years ago when they competed at Canada 2015. A tough group that featured Germany and Norway meant it was always going to be a challenge to qualify for the knockout stage. But Thailand were able to take plenty of pride away with them following a 3-2 win over Côte d'Ivoire – which gave them their first win at a World Cup, and saw them finish just outside the best third-place finishers. Srangthaisong says Thailand can take from the experience of playing at Canada 2015 and hopes that, despite a difficult group, they can surprise a few people. "The World Cup in Canada was our first, so the coach always let us watch videos of the other teams because we had never really played them. We looked at the style of play of the big teams, so to then play against them was a great experience. It was a great honour to bring back to Thailand. It was new, so this time we want to improve."