On the morning of September 23, coach Mano Polking attended a press conference before the match between Hanoi Police and Cebu in the 2025-2026 Southeast Asian Cup C1.
Mr. Polking emphasized: "Our goal is nothing but 3 points, because before that, we did not have a favorable result in the opening match. We will focus on tomorrow's match to win."
Evaluating the opponent, the Brazilian strategist said: "Cebu is a big team and is competing for the Philippine national championship. They have many good players, good foreign players, we have grasped their forces and have prepared carefully.
Both Hanoi Police and Cebu did not start well, so they really need points in the next match. We need to improve more, focus more, especially in finishing and handling situations."
Previously, in the opening match of the Southeast Asian Cup C1 against BG Pathum, despite playing aggressively and scoring an early opening goal, Hanoi Police could not maintain the game. They lost 1-2 to the Thai representative after Chanathip's brilliance.
Most recently, in the AFC Champions League Two, the Police team also encountered a similar problem when facing Beijing Guoan and only brought home 1 point after a 2-2 draw.
"The international tournament is a very important playground for all teams, because players can compete against teams with high expertise. Of course, we want to participate regularly in international tournaments and go far. In the match against Beijing Guoan, we regrettably lost points," said Mr. Polking.
Regarding Nguyen Filip's unstable performance, the captain of Hanoi Police said: "I spent time talking and giving comments, I do not doubt Filip's ability, his class is still number 1. This is unquestionable, but at some times, just a lack of concentration can lead to bad results. We will improve this.
Tomorrow, we will continue to be without Quang Hai, Viet Anh, Adou Minh, but the whole team will work focused. We still have a good squad, and players with good abilities."
On the other side, coach Tomasito Ramos of Cebu Club said: "I am excited to come to Vietnam and face their strongest team. The Cebu players are also ready for this match.
The quality of Hanoi Police is uniform, I am quite impressed with Alan because this is a dangerous striker. However, this is also an opportunity for us to test the players' abilities. We believe that we can create a surprise against the home team.
The strategist added: "I watched the match between Hanoi Police and Beijing Guoan. It was a good match, Hanoi Police played with high intensity, attacking well but Beijing also played well to bring home a draw.
We have prepared carefully and are 80% fit. The players are very confident and ready for tomorrow's match".
The match between Hanoi Police and Cebu will take place at 7:30 p.m. on September 24.
