Vietnam booked a place in their fourth AFF Cup title clash without conceding a single goal on their road to the final, progressing as winners of Group B ahead of 2010 winners Malaysia after collecting three wins and a draw. 

 

Park’s side posted a big 6-0 victory over Laos to open their campaign before defeating Malaysia 3-0. They were then held to a goalless draw by Singapore, but a 3-0 win over Myanmar confirmed their place in the knockout stages. 

 

Group A runners-up Indonesia managed to hold Vietnam goalless in the first leg of the semi-final at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, but Nguyen Tien Linh, their top scorer with five goals, netted a brace in Hanoi to book their second final in four years.

Thailand, meanwhile, had to produce a spirited performance in the second leg after losing 1-0 to Malaysia in the semi-final first leg in Kuala Lumpur. Faisal Halim scored the Harimau Malaya’s winner at Bukit Jalil National Stadium meaning the Thais had to win by at least a two-goal margin to keep their title defence alive.

 

Teerasil Dangda levelled the tie with Thailand’s opener in Bangkok before strikes from Bordin Phala and Adisak Kraisorn in the second half helped the War Elephants progress to their 10th AFF Cup final. 

 

Earlier, Polking's side had pipped Indonesia on goal difference to win Group A after they finished their group stage with three wins – against Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and the Philippines – and a 1-1 stalemate against the Indonesians.

One player Vietnam will have high hopes of delivering in the first leg of the final will be Tien Linh, who has now scored five goals to become the 2022 AFF Cup’s second-highest scorer and he will look to come up with the goods for Vietnam again on Friday. 

 

After an injury-disrupted start to the tournament, Vietnam talisman Nguyen Quang Hai put on an attacking masterclass in the semi-final second leg and seems close to hitting his previous heights as the tournament enters its business end. 

 

Another player Park will pin his hopes on is Do Hung Dung who has not only captained Vietnam into the final, but has also been one of their key players, orchestrating their attacks from the midfield – scoring once and assisting thrice. 

At 34 years of age, Teerasil’s stock is still on the rise and Thailand’s prolific striker already has six goals to his name in the tournament, leading the race for the Golden Boot. Vietnam will have to be wary of the BG Pathum United man as he has a knack of scoring in crunch clashes. 

 

Teerasil’s scoring run can be attributed to the top-notch supply from the Thai midfield, especially from Theerathon Bunmathan, who has four assists to his name having moved into the midfield from his more familiar left-back role. 

 

Another player who impressed in the semi-finals was 23-year-old Ekanit Panya, who was an attacking threat throughout the second leg in Bangkok. It has been a coming-of-age tournament in the youngster’s international career since making his Thailand debut in 2019 and he will be hungry to cap it off with an AFF Cup winner's medal. 

 

Thailand, however, have enjoyed more success when the two sides have met in the competition over the years, winning six of the 11 games while Vietnam have only beaten the Thais twice, with the other three contests ending in draws. 

The two coaches know plenty about each other having met in the semi-finals of the 2020 edition in Singapore, where Chanathip Songkrasin scored a brace in the first leg to help Thailand defeat Vietnam 2-0 on aggregate on their way to a record-extending sixth AFF Cup title.