Vietnam National Team with the mission of "breaking the curse" of My Dinh Stadium

When will the Vietnamese team have its first win in the knockout round of the AFF Cup at My Dinh Stadium? This is still an unanswered question. In the past 11 years, we have only drawn and lost to visiting teams Thailand (twice), Singapore, Malaysia (twice), Indonesia, including the 2008 AFF Cup when we won this tournament.

AFF Cup knockout round results at My Dinh Stadium

* 2007: First leg semi-final: Vietnam – Thailand: 0-2

* 2008: First leg semi-final: Vietnam – Singapore: 0-0

* 2008:Final: Vietnam – Thailand: 1-1 (second leg)

* 2010:Second leg semi-final: Vietnam – Malaysia: 0-0

* 2014:Second leg semi-final: Vietnam – Malaysia: 2-4

* 2016:Second leg semi-final: Vietnam – Indonesia: 2-2

There is both fate and debt

The Vietnamese and Philippine media are digging up everything that happened in the past before the semi-final match between the two teams in Bacolod. Rappler also said that the Philippines lost two goals in the match against East Timor when the central defenders were P. Mulders (22) and C. de Murga (3), after naturalized central defender Alvaro Silava (33) completed the paperwork to replace P. Mulders (22), everything changed. In fact, this central defender pair discouraged the Thai and Indonesian strikers with their tight playing style.

Vietnam National Team determined to break the "curse" of My Dinh Stadium. Photo: Internet

First of all, it must be said that the Philippines is a rival with a lot of fate with Vietnamese football. Statistics show that from 1991 until now, the two teams have met a total of 9 times, of which, the Philippines team only won 2, drew 1 and lost 6 matches.

However, at the AFF Cup, in the last 3 matches, the Philippines won 2. In the 2010 AFF Cup group stage, the Philippines caused a stir when they defeated the defending champion - the Vietnam team 2-0 right at My Dinh.

Two years later, with the naturalization policy, the Philippines continued to beat the Vietnam team 1-0 in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2012. At the AFF Cup 2014, the Vietnam team beat the Philippines 3-1 and that was the only time we got 3 points against this opponent since winning the championship in 2008.

"Curse" My Dinh stadium

Up to now, the Vietnamese team has played 6 matches in the knockout round of the AFF Cup on this stadium. Philippine journalists were delighted when statistics showed that Vietnam has never won a match at My Dinh Stadium, in the semi-finals and finals of the AFF Cup, including the year we won the championship in 2008.

The first time the Vietnamese team played a knockout match at My Dinh Stadium in a Southeast Asian championship was in 2007. At that time, we lost 0-2 to Thailand in the first leg of the semi-final at My Dinh Stadium, then were eliminated after only drawing 0-0 with Thailand in the second leg in Bangkok.

The second time the Vietnamese team played a semi-final match at My Dinh Stadium was at the 2008 AFF Cup. That year, coach Calisto's team was held to a 0-0 draw by Singapore in the first leg of the semi-final at home. In the second leg, Quang Hai's goal at the Singapore National Stadium helped us win 1-0 after two semi-final matches.

The Philippine press is closely following Mr. Park and the team's coaching staff. Photo: Internet

In the final, after leading Thailand 2-1 in the first leg at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, the Vietnamese team only drew 1-1 with the Golden Temple team at My Dinh Stadium in the second leg, winning 3-2 overall after 2 matches.

The Vietnamese team won the AFF Cup 2008, but both wins in the knockout round took place on the opponent's field, and we have yet to win any match in this period at My Dinh Stadium.

AFF Cup 2010, playing at My Dinh Stadium for the 4th time, in the knockout round, the Vietnamese team only drew 0-0 with Malaysia in the second leg of the semi-final, after losing 0-2 in the first leg of the semi-final at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

The most painful defeat of the Vietnamese team at My Dinh Stadium was the fifth time the team played at this stadium in the knockout round of the AFF Cup 2014. At that time, Coach Miura's team was full of enthusiasm thanks to a 2-1 victory over Malaysia in the first leg of the semi-final at Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor State - Malaysia. But surprisingly, when returning to My Dinh Stadium to play the second leg of the semi-final, the Vietnamese team lost 2-4. With the final result of losing 4-5 after 2 semi-final matches, they were eliminated in a miserable manner.

In the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2016, the Vietnamese team, after losing 1-2 to Indonesia in the first leg at Pakansari Stadium in Bogor (Indonesia), only drew 2-2 with their opponent in the second leg at My Dinh Stadium, then lost 3-4 overall after 2 semi-final matches.

In total, the Vietnamese team has played 6 knockout matches at My Dinh Stadium, winning none, losing 2 and drawing 4. In this tournament, Coach Park Hang-seo and his team will play the Philippines at My Dinh in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2018 semi-finals. Will it be the 7th time before we can enjoy the sweet taste of victory?