On the afternoon of October 4th, Malaysia began their training session in preparation for the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 third-place match against Vietnam.
Coach Tan Cheng Hoe is confident heading into the match against the Vietnamese national team (Photo: Ngoc Linh).
Before the training session, coach Tan Cheng Hoe took time to speak to the press. According to the Malaysian head coach, the team's goal is to quickly put aside the results from the group stage and focus on the final match of the tournament.
“Tomorrow is the FIFA ASEAN Cup third-place match. Of course, as a coach and as a team, we want to achieve something. We want to play well and continue to maintain the positive momentum,” coach Tan Cheng Hoe shared.
Malaysia came very close to securing a place in the final after a resounding 6-0 victory over Singapore . This result gave them 7 points and a goal difference of +9. However, Indonesia subsequently defeated Bangladesh 9-2 and overtook them on goal difference to claim the top spot in the group.
Losing the top spot in the group has significantly impacted the morale of the Malaysian players. Coach Tan Cheng Hoe admitted that the whole team was disappointed, but he wants his players to quickly regain their focus.
"I think we have to accept the reality that the team didn't make it to the final. However, the important thing is that we played very well in the last three games, keeping clean sheets and scoring many goals."
"That's a positive sign for the national team, and as I said, we need to keep moving forward and focus on what lies ahead," said coach Tan Cheng Hoe.
The coach also had many positive things to say about the Vietnamese team. According to him, they are still one of the top-quality teams in the region, and Malaysia needs to prepare thoroughly if they want to achieve good results.
"We have to respect Vietnam. We know Vietnam is coming to the tournament with a strong squad. They are one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia," coach Tan Cheng Hoe emphasized.
Recently, Malaysia has often had poor results when facing the Vietnamese national team. For example, at the 2026 AFF Cup, the "Tigers" lost both matches against Kim Sang-sik 's team with the same score of 0-2.
The Vietnamese national team has a good head-to-head record against Malaysia (Photo: VA).
However, the strategist believes that the results of previous encounters do not have much significance for the upcoming match.
“Tomorrow’s match is in a different tournament and will be a different kind of game. Hopefully, we’ve prepared well. The whole team is in good spirits and has a positive atmosphere to face Vietnam.”
"We know Vietnam transitions very quickly and plays at a high tempo. But we also have quality players, players who can control the game," the Malaysian national team head coach commented.
He also suggested that Malaysia needs to make better use of the opportunities created if they want to defeat Vietnam.
“We have to capitalize on the opportunities in front of goal. Of course, we need to be very sharp, not just when facing Vietnam. We have to continue to maintain our style of play,” said coach Tan Cheng Hoe.
The Vietnamese and Malaysian national teams will face each other at 4 PM on October 5th in the third-place match of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 .
Source: https://baoxaydung.vn/hlv-malaysia-tu-tin-huong-den-tran-dau-voi-tuyen-viet-nam-192261004180213214.htm
