HANOI: Will the 'magical' touch of national team head coach Kim Pan Gon help Malaysia crush Vietnam's ego at their sacred turf, the My Dinh National Stadium here, tomorrow night?
Vietnam's excellent record against Malaysia makes that question difficult to answer as the clash between the two teams, who will be out to outdo each other in the important Group B match of the Asean Football Federation Cup (AFF) 2022, is increasingly felt.
After edging Myanmar 1-0 and thrashing Laos 5-0 in the first two matches, the Harimau Malaya are looking for their third consecutive victory or at least maintain their unbeaten record by achieving a draw, thus having a good chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
However, Vietnam are a "tough nut to crack" as Malaysia's efforts in almost a decade to win against them met a dead end with the last time the result favouring Malaysia being in 2014.
The past eight years have seen the Harimau Malaya not able to beat the 'Golden Star Warriors' in all competitions - losing six times and drawing once. In the 2014 AFF Cup, Malaysia beat them 4-2 in the second leg semi-final match.
Based on the current world rankings, Vietnam, who are also two-time AFF Cup champions, in 2008 and 2018, are in a much better position at 96th while Malaysia, who emerged as champions in 2010, are in 145th place.
On paper, Vietnam are the favourites, not to mention that the Park Hang Seo coached squad have had a longer rest period than Malaysia who have to go through three matches including two away games in seven days.
Hang Seo has also listed many popular and important players in both the defence and attack departments, in addition to using the services of young players with great potential.
Among the well-known players is their pillar of defence Que Ngoc Hai in addition to the midfield trio led by team captain Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc and sensational player Nguyen Quang Hai who scored two goals in their last three meetings against Malaysia.
Apart from them, the attacking duo of Nguyen Van Quyet and Pham Tuan Hai should also be given attention for their ability to disrupt Malaysia's defence to open up space for their teammates to score.
Nevertheless, the ability of the national team under the guidance of Pan Gon cannot be underestimated, especially when they managed to overcome Myanmar in the opening match in Yangon, last Wednesday, thus ending their streak without a win since 2016.
The outstanding performance of winger Faisal Halim who has scored three goals to become the top scorer in the tournament so far has been a boon for the national team.
In addition, they also have the advantage of applying a physical game through two naturalized pillars namely Lee Tuck and Sergio Aguero, who managed to score the first goal for the Harimau Malaya squad in their thrashing of Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
Meantime, tomorrow's match will be the first meeting between Pan Gon and Hang Seo, both from South Korea, after Pan Gon was appointed to guide the national team earlier this year.
After two matches, Malaysia lead the group after collecting six points, Vietnam and Singapore, who have only played once, share three points each and are in second and third position, while Myanmar and Laos are in the bottom two position without any points.
Therefore, a win tomorrow will confirm Malaysia's progress to the semi-finals and make up for the disappointment of exiting early in the previous edition while a draw can reduce the pressure on the team scheduled to host Singapore at the National Stadium in their final group match on Jan 3 .-- Bernama