AFF Cup: Malaysia ready to pounce on Vietnam
KUALA LUMPUR: The Harimau Malaya squad are gearing up to create an upset in their mouth-watering clash against reigning champions Vietnam in Group B of the 2020 AFF Cup tonight.
The Malaysian squad’s head coach Tan Cheng Hoe believes that his charges have what it takes to beat Vietnam at Bishan Stadium in Singapore.
“We didn’t have good results against Vietnam lately. Of course, they (Vietnam) have the depth and good players but most importantly, we do have our strategy and plan against Vietnam.
“It is always hard to score against them but we have to find ways and means to get a positive result. Hopefully, my boys can have a surprise moment this time,” he told a virtual pre-match press conference yesterday.
Despite winning both their matches so far, Malaysia are bracing for a fiery match against The Golden Dragon, who are known for their strong defence and top quality players in terms of technical and tactical abilities.
Cheng Hoe said to get the desired result tonight, his boys had to improve their transition play in between attack and defence as well as settle into the game quickly within the first 15 minutes, something they failed to do in the first two matches.
He said it was imperative for Malaysia to avoid conceding goals due to individual errors against Vietnam and demanded that his team beef up their back line.
“The first 10 to 15 minutes always gave us some tough time, and I hope my players are working hard every day and night to improve the team, enjoy the match, step up to improve their individual skills and thus give confidence to the team,” he added.
Malaysia opened their campaign in style as they defeated Cambodia 3-1 on Monday before thrashing Laos 4-0 on Thursday.
Asked on Vietnam coach Park Hang-Seo’s statement that it was unfair for the Asean Football Federation to allow Malaysia to bring in new players, Cheng Hoe said everyone has to be flexible as the federation can give the green light for teams to replace goalkeepers because of the Covid-19 situation. — Bernama