HANOI (8 Dec 2014) – Less than 24 hours after their clash at the Shah Alam Stadium, both Vietnam and Malaysia are already in Hanoi psyching up for the second leg semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup that will be played this Friday.
After the first leg in Shah Alam that had its fair share of drama on and off the pitch, Vietnam hold the advantage following their 2-1 win over hosts Malaysia.
But with another 90 minutes to play for, the ‘second half’ of the semi-final this year will not be short of excitement as the two former champions look to stake their place in the final of the 2014 edition.
“Football is such that you can never predict the future,” said Vietnam coach Toshiya Miura. “Sure we have the advantage but we still have to another 90 minutes to play for.
“And it is certainly not over yet.”
With the My Dinh National Stadium going through yet another phase of sprucing up after the group stage the previous week, the Malaysians are also looking up a much better squad that went on to the pitch just yesterday.
The absence of Mohd Shukor Adan and also Mohd Amri Yahyah were obvious and it had an adverse effect on the psyche of the team who had to be at their best in front of more than 70,000 fans.
“I am surprised with some of the players. Some did well while others did not,” lamented Malaysian coach Dollah. “Obviously, we have to be better and with Shukor and Amri back, I believe that we can be better.
“There’s still another 90 minutes to play for and we have certainly not given up.”
