Coach Park deems pitch for Malaysia clash poor, instructs players to change boots

After a training session at the stadium on Sunday the coaching staff said the grass is not good enough and the ground sinks more easily than the pitch at the Vietnam Football Federation training center, and so coach Park Hang-seo has instructed them to switch boots.

Some players used boots with metal studs during the last two training sessions at the stadium whereas on good surfaces they use cleats with plastic studs.

When the team play in Singapore on December 30, the players will use shoes with shorter studs on the artificial grass at the Jelan Besar Stadium.

Defender Bui Hoang Viet Anh said the poor quality of the pitch would be a common difficulty for both Vietnam and Malaysia, and so would not affect the team’s style of play.

Malaysia are Vietnam’s biggest rivals in the group, he said.

Malaysia have changed under coach Kim Pan-gon, especially in sticking to tactics, and striker Faisal Halim, the tournament top goalscorer with three goals, would be the biggest threat, he said.

Vietnam started the 2022 AFF Cup campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of Laos and have openly said they want to finish first in group B.

“We want to win all the matches,” Anh said. “All games are the same and we focus 100% on each of them.”

The Vietnam and Malaysia clash starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be reported live on VnExpress International.