Head coach Park Hang-seo and his players during a training camp in Singapore on December 14, 2021, one day prior to their third Group B match against Indonesia at the ongoing 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup. (Photo: Vietnam Football Federation)    

NDO – The Vietnamese team have finished their final preparations and are ready in all aspects, from spirit and health to force and tactics, before their next match against Indonesia in Group B of the ongoing 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup in Singapore.

Yesterday afternoon, coach Park Hang-seo’s side had their last training session before their third group match, which is scheduled to take place later this evening.

As it was close to the competition day, the training session was encapsulated within just 1 hour.

After two consecutive victories against Laos and last season’s runners-up Malaysia, the spirit of the Golden Dragons is high. However, Park soon took measures to force his players to focus back to the maximum for the next goal.

The Korean strategist asked each player to give an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Indonesian team, as well as proposing solutions to aim for the best results.

The players were forced to review replays of their opponents' matches to get their own analysis and assessment.

At yesterday’s training camp, Park mainly practiced the tactics the team will apply in the match against Indonesia, with a review on the compatibility of positions in the squad to determine the most suitable choice of personnel.

The advantage is that until now, Park has his full squad in hands, without no players injured or suffering health problems. All team members tested negative for COVID-19 at yesterday’s RT-PCR test.

The current rankings in Group B. (Photo: AFF Suzuki Cup)

After beating Laos 5-1, Indonesia’s coach Shin Tae Yong showed confidence ahead of tonight’s match against defending champions Vietnam.

"If we play well and believe in ourselves, we will definitely get three points in the upcoming match against Vietnam," the Korean coach said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian midfielder Irfan Jaya is more realistic. "Vietnam is very strong, but if we play well, nothing is impossible," he affirmed.

However, looking back at the most recent matches facing Indonesia, the Vietnamese team won both (3-1 and 4-0). Although Indonesia has two wins against Cambodia and Laos in the past Group B matches, they are not strong enough compared to the reigning champions.

Six months ago, the Vietnamese team completely overwhelmed Indonesia in all stats to beat them 4-0 while the opponents couldn't even earn a corner in both halves and were unable to create any real opportunities to threaten goalkeeper Tan Truong during the first half.

After six months, experts assessed that Indonesia now has a certain progress, but the fact that the Vietnamese team only suffered defeats with narrow margin to a series of strong opponents in Asia in the third qualifying round of the World Cup 2022 has made it even better change in Vietnam’s playstyle, especially in defence.

Therefore, coach Park said: "Hopefully Indonesia will play offensively when confronting Vietnam."

In saying so, Park may know the weaknesses of Indonesia, as when they play attack, they will reveal many gaps behind, especially as 21-year-old star midfielder Egy Maulana Vikri has not been released by Slovakia's FK Senica for the game.

According to the Indonesian media, the Vietnamese team is fully capable of playing attack against any opponents thanks to a solid defensive line, a dynamic midfield, and sharp strikers.

This morning, Park announced a list of 23 Vietnamese players registered to play against Indonesia to night.

Accordingly, Vietnam has only a change compared to the previous 3-0 win against Malaysia, with the return of midfielder Tran Minh Vuong instead of Pham Duc Huy.

Also, this morning, the whole team performed a quick test for COVID-19 according to the regulations of the organisers and all are negative.

Vietnam will play Indonesia at 19:30 tonight (Vietnam time) at Bishan Stadium, Singapore. As the tiebreak for rankings, Vietnam will soon win tickets to the semi-finals as the top of the group if they beat Indonesia tonight, regardless of the results of their final match four days later.

Earlier, on the evening of December 14, hosts Singapore and Thailand officially won the first two tickets to the semi-finals in Group A thanks to their respective wins against Timor-Leste and the Philippines. Both teams are maintaining their 100% record in the group, with 3 consecutive victories.