Speaking after his side’s 2-1 semi-final defeat to Japan, a bitterly disappointed Udom spoke of the importance of finishing their campaign with victory.

“I’d like to say sorry to all Thai fans, but we still have one last game to go,” he said.

“For our last game on Saturday there’s only one option for me. We must win. We must get the best result for the Thai fans.”

The 48-year-old also called on local fans to turn out in numbers at Huamark Indoor Stadium.

“I would like invite all of the Thai fans to come to the stadium and support our Thai team on Saturday. We will do our best and, again we can say, we only win for Thailand.”

The defending champions have been all but untouchable in Bangkok, scoring 32 goals in four matches, with a briefly defiant China PR the only side to issue a serious challenge to their dominance.

But despite the sheer weight of goals in their campaign, and the style in which they have been scored, Mozafar said getting the job done was her only focus in the final.

“We are thinking only about winning in the final,” said the 48-year-old.

“It doesn’t matter how many we score, I’m not thinking about the extent of the result, I’m just thinking about winning, that’s it. The final game is a very special game and we have to be really careful and clever.”

Masami Kato scored the winner for Kenichiro Kogure’s side seven minutes from time, to leave Thailand heartbroken after their resurgent second half had seen them equalise three minutes earlier.

The East Asians gained a measure of revenge in their first competitive meeting with the Thais since the 2017 Asian Indoor Games final, with Kato’s goal ultimately deciding an epic contest.

In an engrossing opening, Thai captain Jiraprapa Tupsuri was the first to test the keeper when she forced Ayaka Yamaoto into a smart early save.

But it was Japan who settled first, and they gained the crucial advantage five minutes in when a move started by Anna Amishiro, and continued by Mio Fujita, set up an unmarked Ryo Egawa to score.

To make matters worse for Thailand, Mutita Senkram – player of the match and scorer of a hat-trick in the quarter-final – was sent off six minutes later for a blatant foul on Amishiro, who had breached the defence and was bearing down on goal when she was unceremoniously pulled down from behind.

The hosts survived for two minutes with four players on the court, thanks largely to Pannipa Kamolrat’s brilliant save from an Amishiro effort, then had a wonderful chance to level the match just before half-time.

Shahrzad Mozafar’s side scored within five minutes, and were 4-0 up by half time, as they eased past a Vietnam side who had won all four of their previous matches at the tournament.

Veteran Fahimeh Zarei was influential, scoring once and providing two assists as Iran took another step towards retaining their status as Asia’s best women’s futsal team.

Iran will now face either hosts Thailand or 2015 runners-up Japan in Saturday’s tournament decider, while Vietnam, with their title hopes now extinguished, will play for third.

The defending champions came out firing, taking the initiative from as early as Fereshteh Karimi’s first-minute shot and they only had to wait four more minutes for the first goal, scored by Arezoo Sadaghanizadeh after a sharp pass from Zarei.