Vietnam are the defending champions while archrivals Thailand have the most AFF Suzuki Cup titles of any nation.
Thailand won the championship in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, and 2016 while Vietnam were the winners in 2008 and 2018.
The Golden Stars finished the group stage as Group B runners-up with ten points after four games and the War Elephants were Group A winners with 12 points.
Related:Â How strong Vietnam national football team at AFF Suzuki Cup?
Both head coaches expect Thursday’s face-off, which is the first leg of their two-game semifinal, to be a very exciting match.
Vietnam’s coach Park Hang Seo was full of respect for his opponent in the build-up to the clash, although he challenged Thailand to try and find a way to break down a defensive line that did not concede a single goal in the group stage.
Talking about the pressure that both teams face, Thailand’s coach Alexandre Polking said he sees no reason to step away from his team’s attack philosophy.
Singapore and Indonesia played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the first leg of the other semifinal at the city-state’s National Stadium on Wednesday night.
The ongoing AFF Championship, hosted by Singapore between December 5 and January 1, 2022, is the delayed organization of the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup, which was originally planned to take place at the end of last year but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contestants were divided into two groups.
Title defenders Vietnam, who claimed a 3-2 aggregate triumph over Malaysia in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup finale, were randomly selected for Group B alongside Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos.
Group A included Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Timor Leste.
By Bao Anh @ Tuoi Tre News
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