The national men’s football team will compete with the Greek national champions Olympiakos at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium this evening.

As the rivals are a very strong team, coach Henrique Calisto on Wednesday said he would have his players play counterattack in a 4-5-1 formation to minimize the strengths of the opponents.

“If I had all the best players that won the ASEAN Football Federation Cup last year, I am sure my team would be on equal terms with Olympiakos,” Calisto said.

“Now, I have fewer than half that squad. Therefore, my main goal is not to win or get a good result at any cost.

“I have spoken to Olympiakos coach Ernesto Valverde and we will just do the best we can.”

Calisto felt that it was only this focus that would help him realize the strengths and weaknesses of his players so he can make good plans to make the changes necessary to forge a better team in the future.

The Portuguese tactician said the home soil advantage would put his players in high spirits to play attacking football and find the net.

Meanwhile, Valverde said his players have adapted themselves to the weather conditions in Hanoi and they all feel relaxed and excited before the match against Vietnam.

Valverde said, “My men will respect the home team and play as well as they can. We will try to stop the attacks from the home team and we will win if we are lucky.”

Olympiakos goalkeeper Nikopolidis, who won the European Championship in 2004 with Greece, said, “I know Vietnam played well at the 2008 AFF Cup and has an experienced coach. We will be careful.

“I can’t say anything for sure because there are always surprises in football. We might lose because of a penalty kick or something like that, who knows?”

Reported by Xuan Lam-Le Ngo