* Vietnam highly favoured to win three points against Malayan Tigers
Vietnam were unexpectedly held to a goalless away draw by Thailand in their opening group fixture early last month, which leaves the reigning AFF champions with no option but to beat Malaysia to foster their hopes of advancing into the final qualification round.
Addressing a pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Park admitted that Malaysia have improved a lot from the previous meetings between the two sides in the 2018 AFF Cup.
“Malaysia are now different from the way they were last year. Firstly, they have become stronger with the supplementation of some naturalised players. Secondly, Malaysia’s playing style has become more stable and safer,” he said.
Analysing the power of the guests, Park gave special notice to Syafiq Ahmad, Mohamadou Sumareh and Safawi Rasid.
“Malaysia’s midfield lineup has been strengthened with no. 20 Ahmad, who plays an important role with his ability to penetrate into the box and operate widely on the field. Sumareh and Rasid are both capable of bursting down the right wing and sending crosses into the area. Their scoring rate from this wing is very high”.
Regardless of Vietnam’s formidable head-to-head record against Malaysia (including three wins and one draw in the AFF Cup 2018), Park affirmed that these victories count for nothing for the upcoming game. Nonetheless, the RoK tactician still believes in a triumphant result for the Vietnamese side.
“During preparations, I do not pay so much care to the past achievements. It is already the past. We need to focus on the present. Currently, I can’t say 100% exactly, but Vietnam will blast a victory”.
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Malaysia head coach Tan Cheng Hoe at the press conference. (Photo: VFF)
For his part, Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe spoke highly of Vietnam’s improvement and admitted his side will have a tough match at My Dinh Stadium tomorrow. “Compared to the 2018 AFF Cup, Vietnam have improved significantly and obtained a lot of success since then. It will be a difficult game for us when playing away. However, we will try our best”.
The Malayan Tigers warmed up for the Vietnam clash with an impressive 6-0 friendly victory against Sri Lanka. Tan hailed the match as a valuable chance for his players to accumulate experience in preparation for the encounter against the Golden Dragons.
“It was a warm-up and a precious opportunity for my players to get more experience. We finished the match with good results, which will add to the players’ confidence when confronting Vietnam,” he stated.
The Group G match between Vietnam and Malaysia is scheduled to take place at 8pm on October 10. A victory at home will create a source of confidence for Park Hang-seo’s Vietnamese side before heading into their third group match against Indonesia five days later.
