DESPITE successive draws in their last two games, Spanish coach Albert Capellas’ faith in his charges is undiminished, believing they can beat fancied Vietnam today in a virtual must-win match in their AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup Group B clash at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“First of all, I am very happy with all the players that we have. I believe that this squad can beat Vietnam. We have a fantastic opportunity to prove ourselves against strong teams like these,” said Capellas at the pre-match conference yesterday.
Currently ranked 116th in the FIFA men’s world ratings, the Vietnamese have won all their last seven matches against the Nationals, who are 43 rungs lower at 149th.
“We have a lot of (losing) history with Vietnan and we know this. But we have been trying to change the dynamics of the Philippine team in the last years, especially after COVID,” Capellas said.
“I believe that Vietnam is the strongest team in our group and the team to beat but we also know that our chances of winning are better when we play at home,” added the Spanish mentor, whose wards take on the Vietnamese at 9 p.m.
Filipino-American forward Alex Monis shared the same sentiments, saying: “ We have respect for Vietnam. They are giants in Southeast Asia but we are not afraid of them.
“If we play the football that we know how to play and stick to that, we will give a good fight and get the three points. There is no reason to think negatively.”
Capellas saw silver linings in the 1-all draws against Myanmar and Laos “because we created a lot of chances that gives me confidence in their ability to score. If we won both but had few chances then I would be worried.”
After its 1-0 win over Indonesia over the weekend at home that gave his squad six points and the Group lead, South Korean coach Kim Sang-sik said he and the players only have a win on their minds.
“The players are ready despite the tight schedule so tomorrow’s match is the match that will finally decide our position in the group,” he noted in a separate briefing through an interpreter. “We will know if we will be in the semifinals or not.
“We need points for tomorrow’s match and we are very well prepared so hopefully they will be good results.”
But Kim acknowledged that it would not be a cakewalk, citing their tough 3-2 decision over the Filipinos when they tangled in the joint AFC Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers last June.
“We expect the game to be hard, especially playing on the artificial pitch but we came prepared,” he said.
