Coach Park Hang-seo is not worried about Cong Phuong and Van Hau.

According to a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper at this afternoon's press conference, the first thing Coach Park Hang-seo shared was about the situation of striker Nguyen Cong Phuong and defender Doan Van Hau: "Cong Phuong arrived on the morning of October 7th, while Van Hau only joined the Vietnamese national team yesterday. Because they were abroad, they had to join the training camp later than the other players."

As we know, Cong Phuong hasn't had many opportunities to play recently (while playing for Sint-Truidense), but he's still been training regularly. Cong Phuong's health is fine, and he's had a successful medical check-up. The coaching staff and I were worried about the time difference, but this morning Cong Phuong told me that he's feeling much better. There are no injuries, and this afternoon I will continue to check his fitness level.

As for Van Hau, he's not injured at all and he played for the youth team (Jong SC Heerenveen) in the Netherlands. He had a long flight back home but still had enough time to rest. This afternoon, Phuong and Hau will train with the whole team and I will finalize the lineup to see if they can play or not.”

Coach Park Hang-seo looked cheerful at the pre-match press conference. Photo: Trung Kien

In addition, the South Korean coach confirmed that he has not yet announced the final two players to be dropped from the Vietnamese national team's 23-man squad for the match against Malaysia: "I will still keep those two players on the bench even though they are not on the registration list for the match against Malaysia, in preparation for the next matches of the Vietnamese national team. I would like to refrain from announcing the names of these players because I have not spoken directly with them."

However, according to information from Ho Chi Minh City Sports, the two players who will not be registered for the upcoming match are Pham Xuan Manh of SLNA and Tran Van Kien of Hanoi FC.

Evaluating the Malaysian team compared to the 2018 AFF Cup, Coach Park Hang-seo said: “The Malaysian team now has more naturalized players and is stronger. When analyzing, it can be seen that their midfield is now more stable and secure. Player Syafiq Admad (number 20) has an important role, good ability to penetrate the penalty area, wide range of activity, Sumareh (13) and Safawi Rasid (11) are good at breaking through from the wing. Malaysia has a fairly high scoring efficiency from crosses from the right wing like that.”

Finally, coach Park Hang-seo affirmed that despite having a good head-to-head record, the Vietnamese national team will not be complacent: "Personally, I don't focus on past results; that's in the past. I'm not saying it's 100% certain, but I want to win tomorrow's match."

Midfielder Do Hung Dung admitted that the players were annoyed by the vuvuzela horns at My Dinh Stadium. Photo: Trung Kien

During the press conference, midfielder Do Hung Dung, a player from Hanoi FC, who was chosen by Coach Park to accompany him, shared: “In the match against Thailand, Tuan Anh and I played together and our coordination wasn't really good, but through recent training sessions, we have prepared better and are ready to achieve a good result when facing Malaysia. The most important thing is the team's spirit. With good morale, we can overcome physical fatigue.”

Responding to a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper about the noise from vuvuzela horns created by some Vietnamese fans at My Dinh Stadium, midfielder Hung Dung admitted: "The vuvuzela horns from the fans were really annoying, irritating to the ears, and at times made it difficult for the players to communicate with each other on the field."

This afternoon at 7:00 PM, the Vietnamese national team will have their final training session before the match. The clash between Vietnam and Malaysia in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers will take place at 8:00 PM tomorrow, October 10th.

Can the Malaysian coach neutralize Coach Park Hang-seo's 3-4-3 formation?

(Baonghean.vn) – Compared to the three previous encounters at the 2018 AFF Cup, Malaysia has brought a squad with quite a few additions. However, looking at the preparation of coach Tan Chang Hoe's team, it seems that their opponents are still quite confused by coach Park Hang-seo's 3-4-3 formation.