The game was relocated by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) from the unstable capital to Phuket amid political tension there.
The team had their first training session on the hard turf at Spanhin pitch after a gruelling journey from HCM City to Phuket via Singapore on Wednesday.
Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto has not had a single win since taking over in April but is keeping positive about defeating the team’s archrivals.
"We are playing to win, but we shouldn’t fight a do-or-die game with Thailand. It’s only the first match of the tournament. Viet Nam have two more important games with Malaysia and Laos," said Calisto.
"Vietnamese players will up their training and keep upbeat. Thailand are a powerhouse and have the advantages of home game and a star squad,"
"We could lose the game [with Thailand], but we’re not anxious about it." he said.
The 53-year-old coach will meet with Thailand’s coach, Peter Reid, former England midfielder, ahead of tomorrow’s game.
The former Sunderland and Manchester City manager is hoping to lead Thailand to its fourth title in the biennial event.
The English coach has sporting stalwarts Teerathep Winothai, Teerasil Daengda, Suree Sukha, Suchao Nutnum on his side. Datsakorn Thonglao will line out for V-League’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Niweat Siriwong, the former midfielder of Vietnamese Tien Giang and Eastern Asia Bank has also made the team.
Reid has lost his assistant Steve Darby, who was rushed to hospital on Wednesday for thrombosis. Darby led the Viet Nam women’s team to victory in the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia in 2001.
Thailand got straight into training after a flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Phuket on Wednesday.
Last month, Viet Nam drew with Thailand 2-2 and North Korea 0-0, ranking them second at the T&T Cup in Ha Noi.
The AFF Cup is the most coveted football competition in the ASEAN region.
Winners of the December 28 final will net US$100,000 in prize money.
Viet Nam haven’t won the AFF Cup since it began in Singapore in 1996 and have not beaten Thailand in 10 years - apart from a 3-0 win in the Tiger Cup semi-final in 1998.
Arch-rival Thailand have drawn with Viet Nam, Malaysia and Laos for the group B AFF Cup.
Singapore will play Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar.
The country has won the cup three times. In 1998 they beat Viet Nam 1-0, in 2005 they wiped out Indonesia 5-2 in a two-leg final, and in 2007 they defeated Thailand 3-2 on aggregate.
Change of venue
The AFF announced that the match will go ahead at the original venue in Phuket next Friday 12 after the settling of the polical unrest there. The Viet Nam squad will rush onto an 870km flight to Bangkok straight after the second game with Malaysia next Wednesday.
Source: VietNamNews
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