Xuan Son leads the attack, Tien Linh and Quang Hai are on the bench

The strongest frame of the Vietnamese team

Coach Kim Sang-sik has announced the starting lineup of the Vietnamese team in the match against Thailand in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final, taking place at 8:00 p.m. today (January 2) at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho province.

In goal, Dinh Trieu continues to be the number one choice. The 1992-born goalkeeper started in the two semi-final matches against Singapore and showed consistent performance. Although he does not have as much experience as Nguyen Filip, Dinh Trieu has tried very hard. "I chose Dinh Trieu because he communicates better with the defense," coach Kim Sang-sik shared at a press conference on January 1.

Việt Nam đấu Thái Lan: Xuân Son lĩnh xướng hàng công, Tiến Linh và Quang Hải dự bị- Ảnh 1. — Starting lineup of Vietnam team

In defense, the trio of Thanh Chung, Tien Dung and Xuan Manh is still the framework chosen by Mr. Kim. In which, the role of sweeper center back in the middle of the three-man defense has been assigned to Thanh Chung since the beginning of the tournament.

In midfield, Hoang Duc and Ngoc Tan will guard the central area. On the two wings, Van Vi (left) and Van Thanh (right) will start.

Up front, Ngoc Quang and Vi Hao played as attacking midfielders to support striker Xuan Son. Thus, the 3-4-2-1 formula from the first and second leg semi-final matches was maintained by coach Kim Sang-sik for the final match against Thailand.

Highlight Vietnam 3-1 Singapore – Second leg semi-final ASEAN MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC Cup 2024

Determination to win

The Vietnamese team is only one final hurdle away from winning the 2024 AFF Cup championship, Thailand. After defeating Singapore in the semi-finals and topping the group with Indonesia and the Philippines, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are full of hope to touch the championship title after 6 years of waiting.

“The Thai team is a big mountain, but what mountain is insurmountable? I hope I can bring the Vietnamese team to the top. I hope the players perform well,” Kim Sang-sik shared.

Việt Nam đấu Thái Lan: Xuân Son lĩnh xướng hàng công, Tiến Linh và Quang Hải dự bị- Ảnh 2. — The Vietnamese team is reaching peak form and fitness.

After six months of training, Mr. Kim achieved his first goal with the Vietnamese national team: reaching the AFF Cup final. His second goal was to help Vietnam perform well against Thailand, something that has happened in history, but not frequently. The last time the Vietnamese national team beat Thailand in the AFF Cup was in 2008, in the first leg of the final at the Rajamangala Stadium.

“I understand that this is a Southeast Asian derby. Thailand’s coach is Japanese and I am Korean, so this is also an East Asian derby between two coaches. However, we have defeated Singapore before (Singapore’s coach is Tsutomu Ogura – Japanese). Hopefully, my players and I will play well to beat another team also coached by a Japanese coach,” coach Kim Sang-sik confidently said.

The Vietnamese national team has not beaten Thailand in the AFF Cup for the past 16 years. In their last seven encounters, Quang Hai and his teammates have only managed draws and losses against the Thai team. In a friendly match in September at My Dinh Stadium, Vietnam opened the scoring through Tien Linh, but subsequently lost 1-2.

On the other side of the battle line, Mr. Masatada Ishii of the Thai team emphasized: “It is impossible to compare the Vietnamese team in September with the current one. They have improved and changed their squad. They also have the most important player, Nguyen Xuan Son.”