National stadium ready for Vietnam-Indonesia AFF Cup clash

My Dinh National Stadium went into operation in 2003, with a construction budget of $53 million and a capacity of over 40,000.

After 20 years, the stadium gradually deteriorated and left bad impressions. At the 2022 World Cup qualifiers between Vietnam and Australia, the Australian media compared the condition of the pitch to a cow paddock.

The complex from Stand A during the training session of the national team on Sunday.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has to pay the My Dinh National Sports Complex VND800 million ($34,108) for each time Vietnam’s national team to play at the stadium.

Before the second leg of the AFF Cup semifinals, student volunteers cleaned the stadium.

The large torch used in the opening ceremony of the SEA Games 2003, the first to be hosted in Vietnam.

The seats are cleaned and no longer dusty as in the group stage games of the AFF Cup last month.

The seats at stand C.

In the technical area of the two teams, the stadium management board fastened the bench to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, as happened during the friendly match between Vietnam and Borussia Dortmund on November 20 last year.

The goal has been reinforced and screwed together carefully after its crossbar was knocked off the post by the Dortmund goalkeeper in the friendly match.

However, the grass is still not green enough. According to Dang Ha Viet, director of the Vietnam Sports Administration, due to the lack of sunshine, the grass couldn't achieve the desired shade of green.

Most of the grass died, which resulted in the grey color of the pitch.

The only green spot is the artificial grass area behind the goal, which is used for warming up.

The Vietnam national team had their final training session at My Dinh Stadium on Sunday, one day before the second leg.

In the first leg, Indonesia were held to a 0-0 draw by Vietnam at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on January 6.