Malaysia added several naturalized players compared with the Southeast Asian championship that ended in late August. Harimau Malaya also has the stronger tournament record: nine goals scored and none conceded.
Vietnam has scored five goals and conceded five. Before the tournament, injuries ruled out captain and midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai and centre-back Nguyen Thanh Chung. During the competition, forward Nguyen Xuan Son was injured, while forward Pham Gia Hung left for family reasons.
A few days before the match, midfielder Do Hoang Hen and centre-back Bui Hoang Viet Anh also suffered injuries. Head coach Kim Sang Sik had not yet been able to assess whether they would recover in time.
If Viet Anh and Hoang Hen cannot play, Vietnam will have 19 players available, including reserve goalkeepers Tran Trung Kien and Nguyen Van Viet. That leaves 17 players for the other positions.
Despite the absences, Dân trí considers Vietnam the more cohesive side. The outlet says Vietnam should avoid using too many foreign-born naturalized players and overseas Vietnamese players at the same time.
The outlet says some naturalized and overseas players, including Tai Loc and Ngo Dang Khoa, are weaker in physical duels and ball control. Others, including Ngo Dang Khoa and Williams Minh Hoang, lack international experience. Using them together could expose several weaknesses that their teammates would struggle to cover.
Vietnam's cohesion in recent years has come from players trained domestically. They grew up in the same football and cultural environment, played together for years and understand each other's movements on the field.
Those players also know their team's and their opponent's strengths and weaknesses, which helps them adjust during a match. Replacing them with a large group of naturalized players could cost Vietnam that advantage.
Dân trí expects Kim Sang Sik to use the lessons from the group-stage matches against Thailand and Pakistan to choose his best lineup against Malaysia. The outlet predicts a 2-1 win for Vietnam.
Expected lineups
Vietnam: Le Giang, Tien Anh, Xuan Manh, Viet Anh, Adou Minh, Tuan Tai, Thanh Long, Hoang Duc, Dinh Bac, Hai Long, Williams Minh Hoang.
Malaysia: Ghani, Daniel Ting, Quentin Cheng, Brad Tapp, Corbin-Ong, Hong Wan, Stuart Wilkin, Manuel Hidalgo, Nooa Laine, Bergson, Fergus Tierney.
Sources: Dân trí
