Laos coach confident of surprising Vietnam team

Coach Ha Hyeok-jun when he arrived in Binh Duong on the night of March 22. Photo: LFF.

The Laos team lost to Sri Lanka - ranked 200th in the FIFA rankings - in a friendly match on March 19. However, coach Ha Hyeok-jun believes that he and his players can still make things difficult for the Vietnamese team.

"In the match against Sri Lanka, we experimented with both the squad and personnel. The 1-2 defeat against the team ranked 200th in the world was not a shock. We considered it as preparation for the match against the Vietnamese team," said the Korean coach.

"The Laos team is still confident as we are in the training cycle towards the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, which starts with the match against the Vietnamese team. Let's wait and see what surprises we bring from the way we operate our personnel to our tactics."

The Laos team arrived in Vietnam last night (March 22). Coach Ha Hyeok-jun and his team had 2 days of training in Binh Duong before entering the match with the home team.

The last time the two teams met was in the AFF Cup 2024. At that time, the Vietnamese team faced many difficulties. It was not until Nguyen Hai Long scored the opening goal in the 58th minute that coach Kim Sang-sik and his team "breathed easier" and won 4-1.

According to coach Ha Hyeok-jun, the Vietnamese team has not changed significantly despite having new elements in the squad and coaching staff.

"I see that the changes in the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team, compared to the AFF Cup 2024, are not that significant. Coach Kim Sang-sik is still supported by very high-quality assistants. In fact, the replacement assistant is even more classy, ​​capable of helping Vietnam progress further," said the head coach of the Lao team.