Vietnam and the Philippines will battle it out to secure the top placein their last Group A game, each vying for an advantage going into thesemi-final stage of the AFF Cup.
Vietnam currently rank secondwith four points after a draw against Indonesia and a win over Laos. Awin will place them on top of the group, but a draw against thePhilippines on November 28 will still send them through.
ForVietnam's head coach, Toshyia Miura, securing a place in the semi-finalsis the main priority, meaning a draw would be fine for him.
"We will protect our second place first before thinking of the top place," Miura said.
ThePhilippines have already qualified after two convincing wins over Laosand Indonesia, but they have yet to secure top place and need at least adraw to be group winners.
The top-placed team will gain the advantage of playing at home for the second game in the two-leg semi-final round.
The Philippines' head coach, Thomas Dooley, is pushing his team to finish first.
"Obviouslyit's a very important game tomorrow and we would like to finish thegroup in first place to gain some advantage in the semi-finals.Hopefully, it's a good game," Dooley said in the pre-match conference.
Filipino captain Rob Gier said that while his team doesn't need to win, a loss could seriously impact on the team.
"It'slucky that we are in a position where we don't have to win the game. Inmy opinion, Vietnam is one of the favourites of the tournament," Giertold Vietnam News.
"It's a big bonus for us to go into the matchwithout needing a win, but obviously we want to keep the momentum going,we want to stay strong and keep the team's morality high, so we will goout for a win," the England-born player said.
Gier has a high opinion of Miura's squad.
"Theyare strong throughout the whole team. The way they attack is veryexciting, very dynamic. There is a lot of pace there," said the33-year-old.
"The first 20 or 25 minutes will be very importantbecause no doubt fans will be 100 percent behind their team. They'll tryto attack and attack again. If we can hold up, we will have a chance,"he added.
Gier said the quality of the Philippines team wassignificantly improved thanks to a number of players who receivedtraining in Europe. He said his team had what was needed to win thetitle this year.
"Can we win it? I think we have enough quality,but there are also three other excellent teams in the semi-finals. Thisis an extremely difficult competition where every team can beat anyone,so we have just to make sure that we're on our game in the next two orthree weeks and then hopefully on December 20, we'll be the one to liftthat cup."
Indonesia and Laos will face each other at Hang Day Stadium in what will be a pride game for both teams.
Laoshave already been eliminated after two losses while Indonesia's chancesare extremely slim, having managed to earn just one point in twomatches.-VNA
Vietnam currently rank secondwith four points after a draw against Indonesia and a win over Laos. Awin will place them on top of the group, but a draw against thePhilippines on November 28 will still send them through.
ForVietnam's head coach, Toshyia Miura, securing a place in the semi-finalsis the main priority, meaning a draw would be fine for him.
"We will protect our second place first before thinking of the top place," Miura said.
ThePhilippines have already qualified after two convincing wins over Laosand Indonesia, but they have yet to secure top place and need at least adraw to be group winners.
The top-placed team will gain the advantage of playing at home for the second game in the two-leg semi-final round.
The Philippines' head coach, Thomas Dooley, is pushing his team to finish first.
"Obviouslyit's a very important game tomorrow and we would like to finish thegroup in first place to gain some advantage in the semi-finals.Hopefully, it's a good game," Dooley said in the pre-match conference.
Filipino captain Rob Gier said that while his team doesn't need to win, a loss could seriously impact on the team.
"It'slucky that we are in a position where we don't have to win the game. Inmy opinion, Vietnam is one of the favourites of the tournament," Giertold Vietnam News.
"It's a big bonus for us to go into the matchwithout needing a win, but obviously we want to keep the momentum going,we want to stay strong and keep the team's morality high, so we will goout for a win," the England-born player said.
Gier has a high opinion of Miura's squad.
"Theyare strong throughout the whole team. The way they attack is veryexciting, very dynamic. There is a lot of pace there," said the33-year-old.
"The first 20 or 25 minutes will be very importantbecause no doubt fans will be 100 percent behind their team. They'll tryto attack and attack again. If we can hold up, we will have a chance,"he added.
Gier said the quality of the Philippines team wassignificantly improved thanks to a number of players who receivedtraining in Europe. He said his team had what was needed to win thetitle this year.
"Can we win it? I think we have enough quality,but there are also three other excellent teams in the semi-finals. Thisis an extremely difficult competition where every team can beat anyone,so we have just to make sure that we're on our game in the next two orthree weeks and then hopefully on December 20, we'll be the one to liftthat cup."
Indonesia and Laos will face each other at Hang Day Stadium in what will be a pride game for both teams.
Laoshave already been eliminated after two losses while Indonesia's chancesare extremely slim, having managed to earn just one point in twomatches.-VNA
