Malaysia are leading Group B and are confident prior to the match with the hosts Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium at 7:30pm on December 27 after winning over Myanmar and Laos in the first 2 group stage matches of AFF Cup 2022. Vietnam also have the advantage of playing at home and an undefeated head-to-head record against Malaysia.
Malaysia are leading Group B and are confident prior to the match with the hosts Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium at 7:30pm on December 27 after winning over Myanmar and Laos in the first 2 group stage matches of AFF Cup 2022. Vietnam also have the advantage of playing at home and an undefeated head-to-head record against Malaysia.
At the press conference on December 26, Malaysia’s coach Kim Pan Gon said that the match with Vietnam will be the most difficult match for Malaysia because Vietnam are a strong opponent. However, he and his players know the weaknesses of Vietnam and will win despite playing away from home. Coach Kim Pan Gon led Malaysia to the 1-0 win against Myanmar and 5-0 against Laos.
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The match with Vietnam is very important for Malaysia. If they overcome Vietnam in this match, they will not only win the ticket to the semi-finals as Group B winners but also improve their performance in the competitions against Vietnam. The biggest disadvantage of Malaysia is that they have to travel a long distance and have fewer days off than Vietnam. However, the performance that Malaysian players showing in the match with Laos proved that they have good physical strength. They displayed many ways to approach the opponent's goal. Malaysia have quality players, especially naturalized players, such as Lee Tuck, Stuart Wilkin, and Ezequiel Aguero; all of them are confident and ready to meet Vietnam.
Coach Park Hang-Seo of Vietnam also shows respect for Malaysia. He says that this will be a difficult home match for his players. Especially, coach Park highly appreciates coach Kim of Malaysia. According to coach Park, the play of Malaysia has been different, and the players’ mental strength has been improved since coach Kim has taken over the team. However, coach Park still believes that his players will have a good match and get the victory.
Currently, Vietnam have a quality squad with many experienced players namely Quang Hai, Hung Dung, Van Hau, Van Lam… and young players, who have proved their competences at the domestic and international tournaments. With the aforementioned advantages, hopefully, coach Park Hang Seo and his players will win the match to meet the goal of entering the quarter-finals as Group B winners.
A.N
Translated by H.N
