For a finite group $G$ denote by $N\left(G\right)$ the set of conjugacy class sizes of $G$. In 1980s, J. G. Thompson posed the following conjecture: If $L$ is a finite nonabelian simple group, $G$ is a finite group with trivial center and $N\left(G\right)=N\left(L\right)$, then $G\cong L$. We prove this conjecture for an infinite class of simple groups. Let $p$ be an odd prime. We show that every finite group $G$ with the property $Z\left(G\right)=1$ and $N\left(G\right)=N\left(A_i\right)$ is necessarily isomorphic to $A_i$, where $i\in \{2p,2p+1\}$.