'Vietnam's victory over Thailand in the first leg of the final is the key to winning the championship'

7/8 teams that won the first leg became champions

The clash between Vietnam and Thailand is considered the “dream” final of the 2024 AFF Cup. Since 1995, the Vietnam team has met Thailand 29 times. The “Golden Star Warriors” have won 3, drawn 8 and lost 19 matches. Including 2024, this is the 3rd time the Vietnam team has met Thailand in the final of an AFF Cup. In the 2 previous meetings (2008 and 2022), the Vietnam team won 1 (2008) and lost 1 (2022).

Báo Indonesia: ‘Việt Nam thắng Thái Lan ở chung kết lượt đi là chìa khóa vô địch’- Ảnh 1. — The Vietnamese team is not doing well against Thailand.

Despite having a poor record against Thailand, the Vietnamese team is in good form at the AFF Cup 2024. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team is undefeated (5 wins, 1 draw) and has the best defense in the tournament (only conceding 3 goals). In addition, in the first leg of the final, the Vietnamese team will play at home at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ). CNN Indonesia assessed that the above facilities will give the Vietnamese team more advantages than Thailand.

“This rematch is not only a battle between the two strongest teams in the region, but also a competition between two different football styles. The disciplined and tight Vietnam team will face the flexible and creative Thailand team.

On the way to the final, Vietnam proved to be more impressive than Thailand. In the group stage, Vietnam only had a draw against the Philippines. Then, they showed their strength in the semi-finals, winning with a final score of 5-1 against Singapore. Meanwhile, Thailand suffered a defeat in the battle for the right to reach the final with the Philippines. They even had to play extra time. In terms of form, squad quality as well as spirit, the Vietnamese team is considered to be better than Thailand," CNN Indonesia commented.

Báo Indonesia: ‘Việt Nam thắng Thái Lan ở chung kết lượt đi là chìa khóa vô địch’- Ảnh 2. — The Vietnamese team has many advantages over Thailand in the first leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final.

The newspaper of the archipelago country predicts that if they win the first leg, the Vietnamese team will likely become the champion of the AFF Cup 2024.

CNN Indonesia emphasized: “Since the AFF Cup adopted the home-and-away final format (2004), most of the teams that won the first leg will become champions: 7/8 teams have done this. The only exception occurred in the 2016 AFF Cup final. At that time, the Indonesian team beat Thailand 2-1 in the first leg but ultimately could not win the championship because they lost 0-2 right at their opponent's home field. Therefore, the Vietnamese team has many advantages in this aspect. If they win the first leg, this will be the key for them to open the gate to the championship.”

Opportunity for Vietnam team to break the curse against Thailand

After the 2-1 victory in the first leg of the 2008 AFF Cup final, the Vietnamese team has yet to defeat Thailand in an official match. Even in the "golden era" led by coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese team only defeated Thailand once (a 1-0 victory in the 2019 King's Cup friendly). However, Bola Times predicts that the first leg of the 2024 AFF Cup final will be the best opportunity for the Vietnamese team to change history.

“The Vietnamese team’s style of play under coach Kim Sang-sik is very organized. They play disciplined, take full advantage of set pieces and counterattack effectively. This is expected to be a big challenge for Thailand in the final, especially when the Golden Temple team does not have stability in defense. When meeting the Philippines in the semi-finals, Thailand’s weaknesses were exposed. The Vietnamese team had a lot of time to prepare and they certainly have solutions to exploit. The first leg at Viet Tri Stadium will be the best opportunity for Vietnam to change history and break the curse against Thailand,” Bola Times predicted.