The Vietnamese team will open the AFF Cup (new name is ASEAN Cup) 2024 with a trip to Laos. This is considered a fateful opponent of the "Golden Star Warriors". In the history of the 13 previous official matches, the Vietnamese team won 12 matches and only drew once.
In these 12 victories, the Vietnam team scored 12 goals and only conceded 2 goals. Notably, in 10 of the 12 matches mentioned above, the Vietnam team kept a clean sheet against the representative of the land of a million elephants. In the Southeast Asian championship arena alone, the Vietnam team defeated the Laos team 9 times. Those were the AFF Cups 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2022.
Laos team is also an opponent that brings a lot of luck to Vietnam team.
According to statistics, in 3 out of 4 times entering the AFF Cup final, the "Golden Star Warriors" have had a favorable start to the tournament against the neighboring team. From the above positive statistics, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team have a great support before entering the competition with the Laos team on the evening of December 9, in the opening match of Group B at the AFF Cup 2024.
Regarding the playing force, by the third training session in Vientiane, all the players of the Vietnam National Team were able to participate in tactical training to prepare for the match. Striker Pham Tuan Hai had fully recovered from the injury he suffered during the training trip to Korea; the trio of Nam Dinh players including Nguyen Xuan Son, Nguyen Van Toan and Nguyen Van Vi had started to get into the swing of things after 2 days of training with the fitness coach.
It can be affirmed that, except for Xuan Son who is not yet eligible to play according to FIFA regulations (he must wait until December 21 to play), the remaining 25 players are ready for the opening match of the AFF Cup 2024.
Notably, after watching the training session of the Vietnam team, coach Kim Sang-sik also gradually estimated the main lineup for the match against Laos. Accordingly, captain Do Duy Manh, Bui Tien Dung, Nguyen Thanh Chung, Truong Tien Anh, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Hoang Duc, Doan Ngoc Tan, Nguyen Hai Long, Nguyen Tien Linh and Bui Vi Hao may be selected to start in this match.
As for the Lao team, the biggest and only advantage is playing at home. On the contrary, they are at a disadvantage compared to the Vietnamese team in terms of history and current professional strength. While Vietnam has the service of nearly half of the squad that competed in the AFF Cup 2 years ago, the Lao team mostly uses young players.
Coach Ha Hyeok-jun has only been in charge of the Laos national team for exactly 4 months. The preparation process for the AFF Cup 2024 of the team only really began in November, after more than 1 year without international competition. The exclusion of "veteran" Vongchiengkham Soukaphone from the list of players registered for the AFF Cup 2024 is something that surprised Lao fans.
In a recent press conference, coach Ha Hyeok-jun considered the 2024 AFF Cup as an out-of-reach front, but ideal enough to transfer the generation to Lao football. The destination of the Korean coach is probably the 2025 SEA Games - where the under-23 players in the current Lao squad are hoping to reach the semi-finals.
Overall, it will not be surprising if the Vietnamese team wins big against the Lao team in the opening match of the AFF Cup 2024. The attack of the "Golden Star Warriors" is strong enough, powerful enough and confident enough to realize this ability.
Expected lineup
Laos team: Souvanhnasok, Sanglilay, Siphongphan, Hanthavong, Somsanid, Khochalem, Boukong, Thamkhamsavath, Souvanny, Waenpaseuth, Lueanthala.
Vietnam team: Dinh Trieu, Tien Anh, Duy Manh, Tien Dung, Thanh Chung, Van Khang, Hoang Duc, Ngoc Tan, Hai Long, Tien Linh, Vi Hao.
