Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Duy Hung (L) visits the Vietnamese team during practice at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium Tuesday

Vietnam is shaping up for a hard-fought battle in the final first leg of the 2008 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup in Bangkok tonight.

The Sunday home soil advantage means that a draw in tonight’s match is a successful outcome for Vietnam.

Thai coach easy going

Thailand’s team coach Peter Reid was light hearted during the press conference in Bangkok Tuesday.

“At the beginning, I said Thailand would play Vietnam in the final… and I thought Vietnam would be the strongest rival for Thailand,” Reid said.

He said that Vietnam had some problems when they lost 2-0 to Thailand in the group stage in Phu Ket early this month “but it will be different” tonight.

“Vietnam deserves real respect after dethroning the AFF Cup holder Singapore in the semis,” Reid said.

Vietnam are an organized team with good players who play in high spirits with a burning desire for victory. They deserve their place in the finals, Reid said

Reid said many people say Vietnam has an excellent striker in Le Cong Vinh, but he thinks the team has other outstanding players like striker Quang Hai, for instance, who scored the winning goal to brush Singapore aside on Sunday.

Both coaches agreed the teams were well matched and it would be hard to predict the final result.

The Thai coach said Thailand under-performed in the semifinal second leg against Indonesia in Bangkok last Saturday but would play better in the match tonight, pointing out, however, that his team was under more pressure because Vietnam would play the second leg at home.

“If Thailand wants to win the championship, we must win the match tomorrow.”

The Thai team had a practice session Tuesday afternoon and the Football Association of Thailand Chairman Worawi came to encourage the players by offering them 1 million baht (US$30,000) if they win the game.

The new Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva might attend the match at Rajamangala Stadium, Reid said.

Vietnamese players relaxed

Lots of laughter was heard while the Vietnamese players were having a practice session at Rajamangala Stadium Tuesday.

Calisto had his players practice for only half an hour, and then talked to different groups about match strategies.

“We are looking forward to a good result in the match against Thailand tomorrow,” a confident Calisto said. “It will be different from the encounter in the group stage in Phuket.”

The Vietnam coach said he would put his players in a 4-1-4-1 formation, so his players could launch attacks, but switch to counterattack easily.

Prior to the practice session Tuesday, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Duy Hung and other officials came to lift the spirit of the team.

The ambassador said he hoped the team would play beautifully and he wished the team success.

Reported by Quang Tuyen-Giang Lao