AFF Cup: The Vietnamese team arrived safely in the Philippines, determined to win to enter the semi-finals early

On the afternoon of December 16, the Vietnamese team arrived in the Philippine capital Manila, to prepare for the heroic match with the host taking place at 8:00 p.m. on December 18 (fourth match of Group B AFF Cup 2024). After completing immigration procedures and collecting luggage, the whole team moved back to the hotel to rest.

Also this afternoon, the Vietnamese team will take to the field to practice. The main players in the match against Indonesia will be given the opportunity to rest, while the rest will take the field to practice tactics like previous training sessions. It is expected that coach Kim Sang-sik will reduce the amount of training so that his students can recover and reach their performance points for the important match at Rizal Memorial Stadium in the Philippines.

Coach Kim Sang-sik shared: “The teams all face a situation with a tight schedule and the players will face health effects. I, the coaching staff and the players all understand and agree on the same, as I said every team faces this problem, no exceptions. We will make adjustments to get the players in the best condition.”

While the Vietnamese team won both of their first two matches, gaining 6 points, the host Philippines is disappointing. The team nicknamed “The Azkals” drew with Myanmar and Laos with the same score of 1-1. With 2 points, the Philippines must work hard in the remaining 2 matches to compete for a ticket to the semi-finals.

The Vietnamese team won the Philippines in all 5 recent encounters, scoring 12 goals and conceding 5 goals. At the opponent’s Rizal Memorial Stadium alone, Quang Hai and his teammates also won both of their most recent away trips. However, the artificial turf in Manila will cause coach Kim Sang-sik and his team to have to calculate their playing style, because the bounce and rolling speed of the ball will be very different from the natural grass surface.