The confrontation between the Vietnamese and Thai teams in the final match of the ASEAN Cup 2024 is attracting the attention of the regional media.
According to CNN Indonesia, Thailand has the advantage in terms of head-to-head record against the Vietnamese team. The newspaper wrote: "The Vietnamese team has not won against Thailand since the 2008 AFF Cup final. That is a very beautiful memory for Vietnamese football."
The last time the two teams met was in the 2022 AFF Cup final, when Thailand won a dramatic 1-0 victory after a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
Meanwhile, Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper focused on the current strength of the two teams.
This newspaper commented: "The Vietnamese team is one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia. They are a force in regional football. In the two semi-final matches, the Singapore team tried to compete with the Vietnamese team, but failed."
This newspaper does not focus too much on previous head-to-head results but considers the current strength of the Vietnamese team.
Meanwhile, Thai media expressed concern about Nguyen Xuan Son, Vietnam's top scorer, who had to practice separately due to a calf injury.
Thairath newspaper reported: "Striker Nguyen Xuan Son of the Vietnamese team had to practice separately in the recent training session because of a sore calf. This could be bad news for the Vietnamese team."
Thailand's leading daily newspaper also talked about the importance of Nguyen Xuan Son in the Vietnamese team's lineup: "Xuan Son scored 2 goals, helping coach Kim Sang-sik's team win 3-1 against Singapore in the second leg of the semi-final at Viet Tri Stadium on the evening of December 29. In the end, the Vietnamese team won 5-1 after 2 matches."
"Although Xuan Son's injury is not serious, there are still some doubts about the player's ability to play in the final match against Thailand," Thairath added.
The first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final will take place at 8:00 p.m. tonight (January 2) at Viet Tri Stadium.
