Guide to Socceroos World Cup qualifier

THAILAND V AUSTRALIA

World Cup qualifier, November 15, 7pm local time (11pm AEDT), Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok

AUSTRALIA

World rank: 40

Coach: Ange Postecoglou

Captain: Mile Jedinak

Qualifying route: Finished top of Group B (7 wins, 1 loss)

World Cup record: Four appearances (1974, 2006, 2010, 2014)

Third-round qualifying results so far: Australia 2-0 Iraq, UAE 0-1 Australia, Saudi Arabia 2-2 Australia, Australia 1-1 Japan

Key man: Tom Rogic. The Celtic star is in a rich vein of form for both club and country and the fulcrum of Australia's attack.

THAILAND

World rank: 146

Coach: Kiatisuk Senamuang

Captain: Theerathon Bunmathan

Qualifying route: Finished top of Group F (4 wins, 2 draws)

World Cup record: None

Third-round qualifying results so far: Saudi Arabia 1-0 Thailand, Thailand 0-2 Japan, UAE 3-1 Thailand, Iraq 4-0 Thailand

Key man: Diminutive playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin, fittingly known as `Messi J', will be Thailand's tricky trump card due to his speed and technical skill.

HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY

Australia and Thailand have played three times - Socceroos won all three.

The last time they met was in 2011 during the last World Cup qualifying cycle for Rio.

RECENT MEETINGS

November 2011 - Thailand 0-1 Australia

September 2011 - Australia 2-1 Thailand

July 2007 - Thailand 0-4 Australia

ROAD TO RUSSIA

Current standings in Australia's group: (top two sides reach the 2018 World Cup, with the third-placed team sent to a play-off)

Saudi Arabia -- P 4, W 3, D 1, L 0, GD 5, Pts 10

Australia -- P 4, W 2, D 2, L 0, GD 3, Pts 8

Japan -- P 4, W 2, D 1, L 1, GD 2, Pts 7

UAE -- P 4, W 2, D 0, L 2, GD -1, Pts 6

Iraq -- P 4, W 1, D 0, L 3, GD 0, Pts 3

Thailand -- P 4, W 0, D 0, L 4, GD -9, Pts 0

AUSTRALIA'S REMAINING FIXTURES

Iraq (A) March 23, 2017

United Arab Emirates (H) March 28, 2017

Saudi Arabia (H) June 8, 2017

Japan (A) August 31, 2017

Thailand (H) September 5, 2017