Coach Park: 'Vietnam needs to reach the semi-finals with the top of the AFF Cup group'
*Vietnam - Myanmar: 19:30 Tuesday 3/1, on MetaSports.
Vietnam only drew 0-0 at Singapore in the fourth round, but still topped Group B with seven points, holding the right to decide in the race for tickets to the semi-finals. Coach Park's teachers and students are only eliminated if they lose by six goals - which is unlikely when playing at My Dinh's home ground, and Myanmar is weak and was soon eliminated with only one point after three matches.
"Welcoming Myanmar at My Dinh is the opening match of Spring, the first match of Vietnam in 2023. I believe that with the best preparation, we will win this match so that 2023 has many good results. More Vietnam also needs to win to enter the semi-finals with the top position," Coach Park said at a press conference on the morning of January 2.
The problem with Vietnam is the calculation for the semi-finals. Kicking after Group A one day helps Park's teachers and students to choose an opponent. Thailand is at the top of the group with seven points and will face Cambodia - the third place team with one point less. Indonesia is second but has the most chances in the group when it also has seven points and the goal difference is only one goal behind, only meeting the Philippines who have been eliminated.
"In any case, Vietnam must win tomorrow's match to top the group. Even so, we also have to see the results of today's series to see who continues in Group A. But already in the semi-finals. Every team has the same strength and strength and we all have to determine to fight hard," he said.
Due to being in Group B, Vietnam will have one day less than the opponent in the semi-finals. Coach Park can therefore calculate for a number of pillars to recuperate before Myanmar tomorrow to prepare for the semi-finals. "If Vietnam ranks first in the group, Vietnam will play the first leg of the semi-finals away from home on January 6 and have to leave on January 4. Surely I will have to find a way to distribute forces and energy to prepare for the match. Therefore, we will base on the results of today's matches to build different scenarios," added Coach Park.
But he refused to predict Vietnam's next opponent in the semi-finals, because "football always has many variables and unpredictable". In the case of meeting Indonesia in the semi-finals, Coach Park wants the VFF to take precautions to avoid the incident of the team bus being surrounded by enthusiastic fans of thousands of islands, as happened with the Thai team.
Vietnam team currently has the best force when no one is injured and Nguyen Van Toan returns from suspension. But the Korean leader believes that no matter what squad he plays in Myanmar tomorrow, the team will still play well, because he does not distinguish between the main squad or the reserve team. "For the past five years, I've worked hard to bridge that gap. Every position I've built two players and there's no difference in level, it's just a matter of whether they can play or not. This is the point. the strongest of the team", Coach Park emphasized.
In five years of being led by the Korean leader, the Vietnamese teams have faced Myanmar five times with a record of three wins and two draws. The last time the two teams met, the two teams 0-0 at Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon in the fourth round of the AFF Cup 2018.
Before the reunion today, Coach Park revealed that he had collected a lot of useful information about the opponent. According to him, Myanmar proved unstable in the goalkeeper position when continuously replacing three goalkeepers in the past three matches, but this is a technical team, very good with short passes and counter-attacks.
