AFF Cup 2018: What is so scary about Malaysia?

Bukit Jalil Stadium

With a capacity of up to 90 thousand spectators (about 2.2 times that of My Dinh Stadium), the “fire pan” Bukit Jalil is a huge advantage for coach Tan Cheng Hoe and his team in the first leg of the final. Playing on Malaysia’s field has never been easy for away teams, not just the Vietnamese team. In terms of enthusiasm, Malaysian fans are not inferior to our fans.

Even in important matches of the home team, a large number of Malaysian fans are ready to fight with the fans of the away team. Remember in the first leg of the semi-final of the AFF Cup 2014, after Malaysia was defeated by Vietnam with a score of 2-1, some overzealous fans of the home team rushed into the area reserved for Vietnamese fans to attack, injuring many fans of the away team.

View of Bukit Jalil Stadium. Photo: Internet

Having to compete under the pressure of tens of thousands of spectators in the stands of Bukit Jalil Stadium will greatly affect the psychology of Coach Park Hang-seo's students. Since the beginning of the tournament, the Vietnam team has only had to compete as the away team at stadiums with a much lower audience capacity than Bukit Jalil Stadium (Laos's National Stadium has a capacity of about 24,000 people, Myanmar's Thuwunna Stadium has a capacity of about 32,000 people and the Philippines' Panaad Stadium has a capacity of about 10,000 people).

Looking at Malaysia’s overwhelming performance against Thailand in the first leg of the semi-final at Bukit Jalil Stadium (63% possession, 23 shots...), Vietnamese fans have reason to worry about the trip to Kuala Lumpur on December 11 of Coach Park Hang-seo and his team. Remember, Malaysia has not suffered a single defeat at the 2018 AFF Cup when playing at the “fire pit” of Bukit Jalil (2 wins, 1 draw).

Malaysia's rising form

In the first matches of the AFF Cup 2018, the team nicknamed “Malay Tigers” did not play convincingly. In the opening match, coach Tan Cheng Hoe and his team had to work very hard to defeat the host team Cambodia with a narrow score of 1-0. In the second match, Tahala and his teammates also had a difficult victory with a score of 3-1 against Laos, after the away team took the lead. In the third match, Malaysia lost 2-0 to the Vietnam team at My Dinh Stadium.

But since the 0-2 defeat to Coach Park Hang-seo's team, things have changed for the better for Malaysia. In the final match of the group stage, the "Malay Tigers" crushed the visiting team Myanmar with a score of 3-0 and won a ticket to the semi-finals. Playing better and better, Coach Tan Cheng Hoe's team directly eliminated the defending champion Thailand with a total score of 2-2 after 2 matches (thanks to a better goal difference), to win the right to continue.

Malaysia plays better and better at AFF Cup 2018. Photo: Internet

Malaysia's performance at the 2018 AFF Cup is quite similar to the team's performance at the 2010 AFF Cup, the tournament in which they won the championship. Witnessing the performance of Talaha and his teammates in the matches against Myanmar and Thailand (2 matches), no one dares to underestimate the strength of coach Tan Cheng Hoe and his team. With a squad of quality players and a very high fighting spirit, Malaysia is a formidable opponent for any team.

Playing at home and with impressive form, Malaysia will do everything they can to get a favorable result against the Vietnamese team in the first leg of the final. Difficulties and "traps" are being set by the home team at Bukit Jalil Stadium to await the visit of Coach Park Hang-seo and his team. In short, at this point, the "Malay Tiger" is really scary. If they make just one small mistake, the consequences that Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates will have to face will be extremely large./.