“Thanks to the players, staff and fans who came to support us because this is the most important game for us in our bid to reach the next round,” said Worrawoot.

“As I’ve always said, as long as the final whistle doesn’t blow, we will push and fight and give everything we have to get the result that we want.

“This competition is still not finished, we still have the toughest game to come - away to Gamba. We need to be prepared and make the best of what we can achieve there.”

Already qualified Gamba cruised 5-0 past Hong Kong, China’s Eastern FC, with the win keeping Daniel Poyatos’ side perfect.

Poyatos - who will leave the club at the end of his contract in January - was delighted to see his charges put in a professional performance with goals from Ryoya Yamashita, Shota Fukuoka, Shuto Abe, Deniz Hummet and Gaku Nawata.

“We played a serious game,” said Poyatos. We changed some players and they did really well. We were focused on winning the game and we did.

“In the end, in the football world, you cannot control everything. As a coach, I want to be focused in our job, in the players. We have a lot of talented young players like Gaku and Harumi (Minamino).

“This frustration about my situation doesn’t impact anything, I still do my hardest to make the best for the team. Whatever happens in the future, we keep going.”