In Group B, the Vietnamese team will face Laos away in the opening match of the 2024 AFF Cup. The goal of coach Kim Sang-sik and his team is to win against this opponent to get a good start in this year's tournament.
The Vietnamese team can absolutely do this, because Mr. Kim's team is rated higher than its opponent in both strength and expertise.
The Korean coach prioritizes using players with international experience such as Nguyen Filip, Hoang Duc, Quang Hai, Van Thanh, Tien Linh or Xuan Manh... Meanwhile, young players such as Vi Hao and Van Khang also promise to explode if given the opportunity to compete.
The history of confrontation is leaning towards the Vietnamese team. The "Golden Star Warriors" have won 9 times against this opponent in the AFF Cup 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2022. In addition, 3 out of 4 times reaching the AFF Cup final, Vietnam had a favorable start to the tournament against the team from the land of a million elephants.
As for the Laos team, the home team has not had the best preparation for the AFF Cup 2024. New coach Ha Hyeok-jun has only taken over the team for exactly 4 months.
Besides, they do not have many international matches to practice and compete. Most recently, the Laos team held Thailand to a 1-1 draw in the FIFA Days friendly match last November.
The match between Vietnam and Laos will take place at 8:00 p.m. on December 9 and will be broadcast live on VTV5 and FPT Play.
