Thailand and Vietnam prepare for battle royale

BANGKOK (Dec 22)  – The AFF Suzuki Cup is poised for a climactic finish with old rivals Thailand and Vietnam locking horns in the home and away final on Christmas Eve and December 28.

Thailand, the overwhelming favourites after scoring 11 goals without reply in the group stage, overcame Indonesia 3-1 on aggregate in a compelling semi-final that showcased the vast footballing talent of both nations.

One rapier-like move down the left wing resulted in Vietnam scoring the only goal in 180 captivating minutes of their clash with Singapore.

Striker Nguyen Quang Hai’s 74th minute winner silenced the famed Kallang Roar and ended the reign of the two-time defending champions. It also brought to a halt Singapore’s remarkable unbeaten run of 21 games in the tournament, 19 of them with coach Radojko Avramovic at the helm.

More than 200,000 fans watched the semi-final contests in Jakarta, Hanoi, Bangkok andSingapore with millions more following the action via the live televised broadcasts, underlining the passion generated by the AFF Suzuki Cup throughout the Asean region and beyond.

Thailand will go into the final with a psychological advantage over Vietnam having beaten them 2-0 in the group stage in Phuket but tellingly both scorers on that occasion will likely be missing from Thailand’s line-up at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on December 24.

Livewire Suchao Nutnum is banned after picking up two yellow cards in the semis while Sutee Suksomkit, whose brilliant left-foot free kick opener against Vietnam must be a contender for goal of the tournament, is struggling to recover from a hamstring problem that kept him out of the second leg semi victory over Indonesia.

“Suchao is going to be a big loss because he is an excellent footballer,” commented Thailandcoach Peter Reid. “We have got a few days to decide who will replace him. I am sure we will miss him but somebody will go in there and do the job.

“Sutee has a slight hamstring problem. I showed some discretion and left him out againstIndonesia in the second leg and I think that was the right decision. I could have lost him for six weeks.”

Reid, the former Sunderland and ManchesterCity coach, could bring in Krung Thai Bank midfielder Phichitpong Choeichiu or Tana Chanabut for Suchao while Chonburi’s Arthit Sunthornphit is poised to again replace Sutee.

Phichitpong, who has started once and come on as a replacement three times duringThailand’s campaign, wont give the team as much width as Suchao so Reid may opt for Tana who he regards chiefly as an impact player.

Like Sutee, Arthit is blessed with a magical left foot but the Chonburi wide man seemed strangely ill at ease against Indonesia and was substituted in the second half.

Reid preached the virtues of patience to his team at half-time of the home game withIndonesia and that could again be the byword against a Vietnam team who may look for a draw at the Rajamangala Stadium on Wednesday.

The former England international, who has instilled a sense of self-belief in the Thailand team, will also be warning his players to keep their discipline in what is sure to be a pressure-cooker atmosphere.

“I think if you lose discipline on the pitch you cannot play football,” he said after the Indonesiagame, which threatened to boil over at times.

“Yes it is a slight problem but I am sure we can sort it out. If you lose your head on the football pitch you are not concentrating on playing. You need all your energy, mental and physical on the game. If you get involved in that sort of thing you have not got that. Yes it is something I will be talking about.”

Teerathep Winothai, so often the hero for Thailand in big matches, broke his tournament goal drought in the 2-1 win over Indonesia on Saturday and is likely to lead the line with regular strike partner Teerasil Dangda, who has scored three goals in the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Thailand are desperate to regain their status as kings of Asean football after six barren years and add to the titles they won in 1996, 2000 and 2002.

Vietnam will be playing in just their second final having lost in the 1998 showdown toSingapore on home soil.

The win on Sunday went some way to erasing the memory of that damaging 1-0 defeat and they will go into the final full of confidence and with the passionate backing of the whole country.

Vietnam last played at Rajamangala Stadium in July 2007 when they lost 2-0 to eventual champions Iraq in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup.

The Vietnamese were the only Asean side to reach the last eight but their defeat in Bangkokagain highlighted their Achilles heel, a tendency to crumble when playing away from home.

But the win over Singapore in the LionCity showed that the current team can produce the goods on the road and coach Henrique Calisto will be looking for big games from striker Le Cong Vinh and the influential duo of Phan Van Tai Em and Nguyen Viet Thang.

Le Cong Vinh, the superstar of the Vietnam team, showed his quality with a surging run into the box to set up the winner for Nguyen Quang Hai while the midfield pair caused the Singapore defence all sorts of problems in the first leg of the semi final.

Calisto will be without defender Doan Viet Cuong for the match in Bangkok after he was sent off against Singapore.