Gong admitted his team are physically exhausted after their Hanoi SEA Games gold medal campaign but are determined to push on. 

“Our players are fatigued because of the SEA Games, so I will be focusing on recovery,'' said Gong. “I’ve already considered rotating the players for the next match. My players have shown their best and in time, they will only get better and improve their technical skills. I hope they will continue playing good football and enjoy their time here."

“We have more than one good player, not just (Phan) Tuan Tai. In the first game, Nguyen Van Tung and Le Minh Binh had a really good performance. But every player has been trying their best, especially our captain Bui Hoang Viet Anh, who has led the team well. 

"The players get their confidence through training sessions, and I’m their guide.” 

Two consecutive defeats mean Malaysia are already eliminated but head coach Brad Maloney is insistent his side will bounce back with a win against Vietnam. 

“We have not been playing up to the level that we should,’ said Maloney. “But I thought the players did well for the first 20 minutes against Thailand and we must keep working hard, especially in the next match."

“Against Thailand, we knew that if we were behind, we had to keep chasing to take a point. But that didn’t happen. These players are motivated to do well in the last game against Vietnam and hopefully, we will bounce back with a positive result.”

Should Malaysia win, it would mean 2018 runners-up Vietnam will be eliminated, irrespective of how the Korea Republic-Thailand tie ends.

Vietnam v Malaysia
Venue: Lokomotiv Stadium (Tashkent)
Kick-off: 18:00 (UTC +5)