Coach prescribes zero pressure for Vietnam ahead of Thailand clash

The Vietnamese team is well aware of how important the next game is, given that Thailand has always been a big and long-standing rival, coach Park Hang-seo said at a press briefing in Hanoi Monday.

"The players understand the anticipation of the fans. I can see in their eyes the determination to win. I’m just afraid that they will be stressed when they meet the Thai team in the field and I really do not want that to happen.

"Therefore I don’t want to create any more pressure for them and want to focus on making the best preparation possible for the game," he said.

Vietnam will meet Thailand in Hanoi at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the second round of their 2022 World Cup qualifier matches in Group G. They drew against Thailand in the first leg of the qualifiers in September.

Park said the Vietnamese team has prepared itself and studied Thailand carefully.

He said he cannot go into details, but Vietnam could take advantage of Thailand leaving certain spaces unguarded.

Vietnam earned a 1-0 victory against 10-man UAE at home and climbed to top of the group last Thursday when Thailand lost an away match 1-2 to Malaysia.

Thailand’s coach, Akira Nishino, admitted to some stress as his wards prepared to play Vietnam on a Vietnamese ground.

Coach Akira Nishino speaks at a press conference in Hanoi, November 18, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa.aption]

The Thai team arrived in Hanoi last Saturday. They did not practice on the field provided by the Vietnam Football Federation. Instead, they chose to hire a field from a Vietnamese football club for conducting their training sessions closed to all media.

"We thank the VFF for its support but we need privacy because we’re going to make changes in both players and strategies," he said.

Japanese Nishino became Thailand’s coach at a time that the neighboring kingdom has been dethroned by Vietnam as the top team in Southeast Asia.

"Vietnam has been making great and fast progress recently and this is a great thing because it will create competition in the region and allow all teams to improve. Vietnam’s success is also a lesson for Thailand," he said.