The quartet, which includes Nirut Surasiang, Sutee Suksomkit and veteran Terdsak Jaiman, missed the ongoing two-week training camp in Germany due to their club commitments. Previously, it was feared the four might also be unavailable for the last tune-up match against Qatar at the end of this month, which could have made coach Chanvit Pholchivin's job tough in choosing the final squad.

The news that the four, who are considered first-choice in Chanvit's line-up, could attend the team's final phase of the preparation next Wednesday, three days prior to the Qatar match, pleased Chanvit.

"It will help me a lot in the team selection. Not only can I assess their form in the game against Qatar, but also get more than a week to revise tactics before our Asian Cup opener against Iraq," said Chanvit, whose side was due to play the warm-up match with amateur side TSV Lennarts later yesterday.

Worawi Makudi, the Football Association of Thailand president, who along with the team manager Kittiratt na Ranong visited the training camp at Fulda city, was impressed with what went on in the preparations so far and believed Thai team had a chance in the continent's top-flight competition.

Commenting on the chances of the team, which is in Group A with pre-tournament favourites Australia, Iraq and Oman, Kittiratt believed if the hosts get three points from the match against Iraq, the door will open for them.

 "What I saw from video tapes about Iraq in their last two warm-up matches against Jordan and Palestine is that they made a lot of mistakes, particularly on the flanks from which Jordan threatened on the counter-attack.

"Despite their burly frames, their attackers didn't look sharp even though they were good on the ground and in the air. However, that might be because Jordan was a good side. If we could get past Iraq, our remaining task would be much easier," said Kittiratt.

The game between Thailand and Qatar, which will kick off at 6.30pm, will be held on June 30 at the Royal Thai Army stadium.

Meanwhile, the Asian Football Confederation named referee Satop Tongkhan as one of the referees for the Asian Cup.