Quang Hai wants to bring the AFF Cup championship back to Vietnam

"Recreating the AFF Cup championship like in 2008 will be a resounding achievement for us," Nguyen Quang Hai said on the AFF Cup homepage. "I still remember how meaningful that championship was to Vietnamese football fans. At that time, I was still a young player with many ambitions. Now I have worn the national team jersey, but there are still many goals to conquer."

This year, defending champion Thailand has not been able to call up many players playing abroad for the upcoming AFF Cup, such as Chanathip Songkrasin, Teerathon Bunmathan or Teerasil Dangda. That opens up opportunities for coach Park Hang-seo and his team. But Quang Hai is not too concerned about the opponent's personnel.

"I think the teams participating in the AFF Cup are not much different in terms of level. Of course, Indonesia and Thailand are very strong, but we are motivated and will try our best. I don't care about the absences in the Thai squad. The important thing is the team. If we prepare well mentally, tactically and physically, we will create the best performance," Quang Hai added.

The 2018 AFF Cup takes place from November 8 to December 15 with 10 participating teams. Vietnam is in Group A with Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Quang Hai and his teammates will visit Laos on November 8, then welcome Malaysia on November 16 at My Dinh. Four days later, the team will continue to visit Myanmar. The final group stage match will take place at Hang Day Stadium on November 24 against Cambodia.