Vietnam vs Laos: Win and race for goal difference

Facing the familiar loser, Laos, in the second match of Group A, Vietnam aims to win resoundingly. Not only aiming for 3 points, Coach Toshiya Miura's students also want to have a good goal difference to compete for the top spot in the group and open the door to the semi-finals.

Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates are determined to have a big victory against Laos.

VICTORY IS WITHIN REACH

Laos is the team that is rated the lowest among the 8 teams participating in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014 and that position makes few people dare to think that they can create a surprise when facing the host Vietnam - a team with a much higher level. Before entering the final round of this tournament, Laos could still be considered an unknown in Group A, but after what they showed in the opening match losing 1-4 to the Philippines on November 22, the concept of "unknown" is no longer mentioned much.

Coach David Booth's team may have had plenty of effort and determination when playing, but their weaknesses in physical strength, physique, and their rather naive playing style have pushed them into the role of a "backdoor" team.

The race for the 2 semi-final tickets in Group A will be a three-way battle between Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Therefore, Laos is considered a target for teams with ambitions to continue to defeat, even with a big score to "capitalize" in case they have to compare the goal difference to determine the owners of the 2 semi-final tickets. The Philippines won 4-1, so of course, the goal of Vietnam tonight at My Dinh Stadium or Indonesia on the evening of November 28 will be to defeat Mr. David Booth's team with a bigger gap.

INCREASE FIREPOWER FOR THE FRONT LINE

Tonight, a resounding victory is what coach Toshiya Miura and his team are aiming for, both to get closer to the semi-finals and to gain more confidence from the home crowd. To realize the set goal in the context that Laos will arrange a dense defense, entrenched in their home field, the Vietnam team has no other choice but to increase the "firepower" of the attacking system.

Coach Miura still uses the 4-4-2 formation, but unlike the match against Indonesia, our starting lineup will have more “shooters” and not give much priority to the defense system. The striker pair will most likely be a combination of Anh Duc and Cong Vinh – two real strikers, unlike the pair Hai Anh (striker) - Van Quyet (retreating striker) in the match against Indonesia. Supporting the attacking pair will be a midfield that can both “load ammunition” and “shoot”. All of this is to diversify the attacking options of the Vietnam National Team to the maximum, enough to neutralize the visitors’ defensive intentions.

VIDEO: Vietnam 2-2 Indonesia

The fact that Cong Vinh has found his scoring touch again after more than 2 months of "silence" and being pushed to the bench is considered an effective "starving the tiger" tactic of Coach Miura. The same thing seems to be applied to the remaining strikers such as Anh Duc and Hong Quan - who have always been effective in training, competing and living but are often playing as substitutes in recent matches. With an attacking line entering the peak of form with Cong Vinh, Van Quyet and other "tigers" eager to be given the opportunity to show off, the Vietnam National Team will not have to worry too much about the goal of winning a resounding victory to "treat" 40,000 spectators at My Dinh Stadium and millions of fans nationwide.

WAITING FOR A GOOD DESTINY

With 10 goals in the Tiger Cup and AFF Suzuki Cup, Cong Vinh is currently the player who has scored the most goals in the Southeast Asian championship. 10 years ago, in his first appearance at the regional football festival, Cong Vinh scored 1 goal against Laos (Vietnam won 3-0).

Today, in the 5th Southeast Asian Championship of his career, CV9 is expected to score again like 10 years ago to help the Vietnamese team win, while he himself continues to aim to break the record of 17 goals of Noh Alam Shah (Singapore).

Vietnam National Team Reserves:Vinh Loi, Van Bien, Tien Thanh, Huy Cuong, Xuan Thanh, Hai Anh, Thanh Trung, Minh Tuan, Van Quyet.

Laos National Team Reserves:Phommapanya, Phommasane, Maitee, Syvilay, Sipasong, Khochalem, Vilayout, Soundala, Souliyavong, Bounmalay, Odomsith.

HEAD TO HEAD: Laos National Team has not scored against Vietnam National Team in 15 years

Since 1991 until this afternoon's match, Laos and Vietnam have faced each other 9 times. Laos only had 1 draw and lost 8 matches. In the past 9 matches between the two sides, Vietnam scored 41 goals and conceded 3. Notably, since 1999 until now, that is, 15 years, Laos has not scored a goal against Vietnam.

Coach Toshiya Miura (Vietnam national team): “We have prepared carefully and will have some changes in the match against Laos, but I cannot say clearly how we will prepare and what changes we will make because the Laos coach is sitting next to me. I only know that the Vietnam national team will have to play offensively and we must win this match.”

Coach David Booth (Laos national team): “In the match against the Philippines, my players had a disappointing performance. They have to try harder in this afternoon's match. However, the Vietnamese national team is a very strong opponent and the home team's attacking style of play is really dangerous, the pressure from the stands is also very high, so this will be a very difficult match for Laos.”

According to Bongda+