Alkass Digital
Vietnam are looking to seal their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024™ when they take on Malaysia at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.
The 3-1 win over Kuwait in their first game gives Vietnam the opportunity to advance to the next stage of the competition should they gain their second victory in Group D against Malaysia and if Uzbekistan also pick up all three points against Kuwait.
Head coach Hoang Anh Tuan said his charges were boosted by their positive start to the tournament and the 2018 finalists intend to seal progress as early as they can, but will have to do so without the services of defender Nguyen Ngoc Thang who is suspended after his red card against Kuwait.
“I only had 10 days with the team, and couldn’t make too many changes,” said Hoang. “But I hope that after every match, you will see how they improve."
“Coming into this tournament, we prepared for all three matches, not just the first match, but I can’t share the details. We are always ready.
“The next match is really important, because if we get a good result we can qualify to the next round.”
Forced to be on the back foot by Uzbekistan in their first game, the Malaysian forwards were mainly peripheral figures in the game but head coach Juan Garrido is looking for that to change against Vietnam.
Garrido intends to approach the game with a more attacking style of play and is hopeful that this will see Malaysia reignite their chances of reaching the next phase.
“Last game, we spent a lot of time in our own half because we faced a good opponent but in the coming games, we have to change that and be more front-footed,” said Garrido.
“Game after game, we’ve always tried to improve. Maybe the way that we want to attack, that needs extra work.”
Malaysia v Vietnam
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
Kick-off: 16:00 (UTC+3)