Vietnam coach tells his men not to give Malaysia a 'glimmer of hope'

KUALA LUMPUR: Vietnam's head coach Kim Sang Sik is cautioning his team against giving Malaysia any reason to hope despite being two goals up in the Asean Hyundai Cup semi-finals. Speaking prior to the second leg at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi, Sang Sik warned his players not to celebrate prematurely. The Vietnamese squad has a 2-0 aggregate lead over Malaysia after their first-leg win at KLFA Stadium on Sunday.

Even though they are one step away from the final, Sang Sik acknowledges that Harimau Malaya, coached by interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe, remain a formidable force in the return match. He emphasized that in knockout football, a 2-0 scoreline does not signify the end of the battle. Sang Sik reviewed video footage of the game in Kuala Lumpur with his team and pointed out Malaysia's aggressive style and high pressing in the opening 30 minutes.

The Vietnamese coach stressed that his team cannot afford to let Malaysia have any glimmer of hope on home soil. The 2014 edition, where Malaysia overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Vietnam 4-2, is still a fresh memory in Vietnam's minds. Sang Sik made it clear that his team will not play cautiously and will not aim for a draw. Instead, they plan to attack, control the tempo, and win the match decisively.

He dismissed Vietnam's scoring disparity in the tournament, where they have scored 12 goals away but only three at home. The coach highlighted that statistics are just numbers until the referee blows the whistle, and the objective remains the same whether on home or away soil. With a crowd of 40,000 expected to attend My Dinh Stadium, a fiery showdown is set to take place as Vietnam aims to reach the final while Malaysia seeks another miraculous victory in Hanoi.