The Thailand team finished second in their Premier League and boast of a number of players considered good enough for the national team. Air Force do not have any foreign players in their ranks, in contrast to the Indian teams. The Thailand football association has made it clear that the team has been cleared for the IFA Shield in order to give their players match practice.

Bengal Mumbai Football Club on the other hand, will be taking the tournament far more seriously. Although they are without their key striker Abdul Khalique, BMFC will be depending on young Sheikh Sanjib up front. Skipper and deep defender Alok Das had a very good first match against Sporting and savedhis team a number of times in dangerous situations. Although the team did not perform too well as a unit, they did play an organised game after the break. Tomorrow, against the unknown Thailand opponents, a similar tactics might work well for the Mumbai team.