In the final round of the group stage of the East Championships, Singapore was lucky to advance to the quarter-finals with a narrow one-goal win against Malaysia in an uneventful match.
Although Singapore did not leave a dazzling record against Malaysia, they may face a tougher challenge against Vietnam. Vietnam is coming off a five-match series in which they swept Myanmar 5:0 and are highly demoralized.
Vietnam's formation has a good mix of offense and defense, scoring a whopping 11 total goals and conceding only two. The presence of creative players such as Nguyen Quang Hai in the team has enabled the team to start an offensive attack as well as stabilize the defense.
The overall strength of the team is not bad, and the addition of Rafelson has greatly increased the strength of the front line. The sharp-sighted Vietnamese scorer, who scored twice on his debut for the national team, will be a key threat to the opponents in today's match.
Singapore may follow the same tactics as they did against Malaysia in this match, first focusing on defense and compressing the opponent's space. They will then launch a counter-attack by utilizing their main attacker Annua, who has already scored four goals this season and is currently tied with Felicity Ranieri at the top of the scorers' list.
Midfielders Kyoya Nakamura and Shahiran will once again provide strong support to the team with their outstanding performances. Their ability to control the ball will determine Singapore's performance at the attacking end.
Singapore is playing at home and whether they can get a good result will directly affect their chances of reaching the final. The atmosphere at the stadium is tense and the enthusiasm of the fans will help the team. Although the artificial grass may have an impact, if Vietnam can adapt quickly, they have the ability to cause problems for Singapore and ultimately win the match.
