UK newspaper predicts victory for Vietnam over Indonesia in Asian Cup

Striker Nguyen Dinh Bac (L) celebrates his 1-1 equalizer for Vietnam against Japan in the first round Asian Cup group stage at Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar on Jan. 14, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa

"These sides are relatively equal in terms of quality, but Troussier's major tournament experience could give the Vietnamese a slight edge in this match," Sports Mole said, predicting a 2-1 win for Vietnam.

Before coaching Vietnam in early 2023, Troussier managed many teams such as the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Qatar, Morocco and Japan.

The 68-year-old coach helped Japan win the 2000 Asian Cup, then continued to manage Qatar in the following tournament. He also took Burkina Faso to the semifinals of the 1998 African Cup of Nations, their best result at that time.

Troussier's opponent on Friday is coach Shin Tae-yong, 54, who has less experience with spells in South Korea and Indonesia. He managed South Korea to defeat Germany in the 2018 World Cup group stage, but the team were still eliminated early. Troussier took Japan to the round of 16 of the 2002 World Cup, their best run in the tournament.

Indian site Sportskeeda also predicted that Vietnam would beat Indonesia 2-1.

"Any team that loses this match may be eliminated early, so they will all have to be careful. However, Vietnam only lost one of the last 12 matches against Indonesia at all levels, so we predict the game will end 2-1 in favor of Troussier and his team," it said.

Leading statistics firm Opta believes that Vietnam have a 45% chance of beating Indonesia, a 25.4% chance of drawing and a 29.6% chance of losing.

Their predictions are based on each team's strengths, running a simulation of the results through a supercomputer. In the world ranking, Vietnam are 94th, 52 places higher than Indonesia.

Indonesian newspapers are more optimistic about the results of the match, with BolaNet and Bolacom both predicting a 0-0 draw.

Such a result would mean the two teams do not have much chance of advancing, as Japan and Iraq are much stronger in Group D, and Vietnam and Indonesia could end the group stage with just one point, not be enough to qualify as a best third-placed team.

The game will take place at 9:30 p.m. (Hanoi time) and will be broadcast live on VnExpress International.