AFF Cup: Revealing the Vietnamese team’s potential opponents in the semi-finals

DUA STRANGE

The race to win tickets to continue in Group A was dramatic until the last round. Because besides Thailand (9 points) which is sure to top the group, the remaining semi-final spots are still divided equally between teams Singapore (6 points), Malaysia (4 points) and Cambodia (4 points). Among them, the epic match between Malaysia and Singapore at Bukit Jalil Stadium is the most notable. Malaysia has been forced into a corner. If they cannot win against Singapore at home, the “Tiger” will leave the tournament from the group stage. Meanwhile, Singapore played well when defeating Cambodia and Timor Leste, and only lost to Thailand because of exhaustion during the intense chase.

With nothing left to lose, the Malaysian team rushed forward to attack. The home team held the ball 60% of the time and continuously drilled Singapore’s two sides. However, the away team did not defend passively but pressed and fought fiercely in the midfield. Singapore’s efforts made Malaysia dominant in the first half of the first half with 6 shots, but had no clear scoring opportunity. Faris Ramli and his teammates advocate defending from a distance, preventing Malaysia from deploying the ball.

The home players pressed hard on both sides and played long balls, but the attack (with the leader Endrick playing for the Ho Chi Minh City team) did not run well to create opportunities. And when they have the opportunity, they don’t take advantage of it. In the 42nd minute, Haqimi Azim Rosli escaped to face Singapore goalkeeper Mahbud after an offside trap error by the away team’s defense. However, the Singapore goalkeeper excellently read the situation to save the match. Daniel Ting then went in for the rebound but did not hit the target as the Singapore defender applied pressure.

In the second half, Malaysia increased the pressure when receiving news that Cambodia held Thailand to a score of 1-1 after the first half. Right at the beginning of the second half, Endrick threatened Singapore’s goal with a spinning free kick that missed the target. . Long shots and fixed situations became weapons for Malaysia to resolve the deadlock. In the 62nd minute, Paulo Josue had a close-range header that hit the crossbar. Harith Haiqal’s kick was blocked by Singapore defenders before the goal line. Six minutes later, luck turned against Malaysia again when the ball bounced off the bar from Haiqal’s header.

Despite defending deep, Singapore also had extremely sharp counter-attacks, typically a shot from… close to the midfield line that almost entered Malaysia’s goal in the 81st minute. Singapore’s defensive efforts reaped rewards in the match. The 0-0 draw was as precious as gold, bringing the Lion Island team to the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2024 with 7 points, ranked second in the group.

In the remaining match, the Thai team came back to defeat Cambodia with a score of 3-2 to close the group stage with 12 absolute points.

SINGAPORE IS A formidable opponent

The Vietnamese team has rarely met Singapore at the AFF Cup in the past 10 years. The last time Vietnam competed against this opponent was at the AFF Cup 2022, with a 0-0 draw. Singapore went through a period of crisis after winning the championship in 2012. Over the years, Faris Ramli and his teammates went through a period of strong rejuvenation, but the youth’s lack of quality kept the Singapore team in turmoil.

However, with coach Tsutomu Ogura, the Singapore team has improved. The team from the lion island nation played tenaciously in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, even though there weren’t many stars in the squad. At the AFF Cup 2024, Singapore did not play too prominently, but was very tight and knew who they were. Mr. Ogura’s team won the matches they needed to win (against Timor Leste and Cambodia), then narrowly held Malaysia to a draw.

If ranked first, the Vietnamese team will meet Singapore. The advantage of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is that they can play at home. If second in the group, our players will play against Thailand.