AFF Cup final: Make more noise, coach tells Vietnamese fans

The second leg of AFF Cup final 2018, the deciding game, will take place tomorrow at the My Dinh National Stadium of Hanoi.

Vietnam’s coach, Park Hang-seo, said: "We all understand the importance of tomorrow’s game. Everything has been well prepared over the past few days. Now I want all the Vietnamese fans to support the team. Come to My Dinh to motivate the players. Although they can also create some pressure, I hope that my players can keep calm throughout the game."

The My Dinh Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 seats, just half of Bukit Jalil, where the first leg was played. However, Park said he believes in the atmosphere that the fans in Vietnam can create.

"We had a successful game in Malaysia under the pressure of 80,000 fans. Now it’s our turn to play on home ground. Our stadium is smaller, but I hope the Vietnamese fans can do a better job than the opponents," Park added.

According to many South Korean newspapers, the first leg of AFF Cup final between Vietnam and Malaysia had a record number of ratings on South Korea cable television (4.7 percent).

Park said he was proud of this fact.

"I really like working here (Vietnam). I’m also honored when people in South Korea support me. I feel responsible to all the fans in Vietnam and South Korea and will do my best to bring joy to them."

Wrapping up the pre-match press conference, Park said the biggest desire of the team is to win AFF Cup.

"In a year of coaching the Vietnamese football team, I have been through three big tournaments. However, we haven’t got a single title yet. I hope Vietnam will win the cup this time. That’s the team’s biggest dream."

Vietnam and Malaysia have taken different paths to the final. Vietnam was unbeaten in the group stage with three wins, one draw and no goals conceded. Then they went on to win both legs of semifinals against the Philippines with the same score, 2-1.

Malaysia had a slow start, losing to Vietnam in the group stage. In the semifinals, they drew with Thailand 2-2 on aggregate and proceeded to the final.

After the first leg of the final, Vietnam holds the advantage of scoring two away goals in the first leg that ended in a 2-2 draw. A goalless draw or a 1-1 draw will deliver the title to Vietnam.

But history is on Malaysia’s side.

Vietnam has lost both its previous games against Malaysia in the knockout stages of the AFF Cup.

Tomorrow's match will kick off at 7:30 p.m.