by Paul Williams There was a level of excitement in the build up to the 2014 World Cup qualifying draw earlier this year, and as Australia was drawn in Group D alongside Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Oman there was a collective sigh of relief around Australia.

I say that with the greatest of respect to the other three teams, however after being placed in what some have regarded as the “Group of Death” in the last campaign, Group D represented a group where Australia could be confident of advancing to the final group stage. Confident, not complacent.

By Kitinan Sanguansak Thailand’s German coach Winfried Schaefer needs to draw on his tactical nous if the veteran tactician is to get the national reign off to a winning start when his new charges take on an improving Palestine side in the 2014 World Cup Asian second qualifying round today.

On paper, a home leg against the side languishing in the 167th place in the world’s ranking hardly represented a tough first assignment for a coach of Schaefer’s stature. The German, whose most notable success in his managing career was the triumph with Cameroon at the African Nations Cup in 2002, might have been forgiven if he had adopted a cautious approach for the Palestine fixture.