The second half of Thailand women's national football team arrived in Ottawa on Friday ahead of the team's participation in the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™. The team was greeted heartily by a contingent of Thai supporters at the arrivals gate of Ottawa's Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.

"Our team is going to give it our all," said War Elephants manager Nuengrutai "Nueng" Srathongvian after arriving with her team on a flight from Frankfurt. "We are going to make our citizens and fans really proud of our performances."

Also arriving with the Thai congregation on Friday afternoon was team captain Duangnapa 'An' Sritala.

"We're going to fight hard to make our fans proud, and ultimately, our goal is to make it to the second round," said An, a key defender for Srathongvian's Thailand side. "First off, we need to have a really solid defence, and then building on the base of playing the ball, using our agility, moving the ball, and hopefully get some penetration."

Another key member of Thailand's squad to arrive on Friday was veteran attacking midfielder Naphat 'Job' Seesraum. With 83 international caps to her name, Seesraum is one of the most-capped players in the history of women's football in Thailand.

"It has been a really great honour to represent my country," said Job, who represented Thailand at the last finals tournament the country appeared in, the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. "This time, our team feels like we're quite well-prepared to face great teams such as Germany, Norway, and Côte d'Ivoire, we have confidence that we will be able to challenge them at this level."

While expectations are high for Nueng and her charges, the 43 year-old Thai manager recognizes the momentous achievement her women's program has made in qualifying for Canada 2015.

"It's a huge step for us," said the former assistant coach, "we've been playing within Asia many, many times, but this is our first time coming here (to a finals), so we expect bigger challenges, and will strive higher to catch up with this international level."

- Story by Carlos Verde