Football 

HÀ NỘI  New captain Đỗ Duy Mạnh confirmed Việt Nam's determination for a win in the opening match of Group B against hosts Laos in the ASEAN Cup on December 9 in Vientiane.

Defender Mạnh will take the captain's band for the first time in his career, assisted by two deputies -- midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải and striker Nguyễn Tiến Linh.

"It is great honour and tough task for us. We must show our ability, prestige and responsibility, connecting the coaching board and players," said Mạnh.

"For the upcoming tournament, we will have to play well and we will try our best to repeat our journey to victory in 2018."

The 28-year-old Hà Nội FC player revealed that Việt Nam has invested heavily in terms of time and effort preparing for the regional competition.

“We had a discussion today and watched Laos's video clips. Coach Kim (Sang-sik) talked with us about his playing philosophy and analysed Lao style," said Mạnh.

"We recognised that regional football has been progressed strongly. All teams are stronger, so we really need to maintain our focus throughout the games to ensure our targeted results."

Việt Nam have previously played Laos three times, winning all three and scoring 11 goals, while retaining a clean sheet.

In 2018, Việt Nam won 3-0, a bright start for the team which they are hoping to repeat.

On the host's side, captain Bouphachan Bounkong told reporters: "We are preparing for the match against Việt Nam with 100 per cent of our ability and concentration," he said.

"Việt Nam is one of the top teams in Southeast Asia. We have to watch many videos analysing their plays. We're ready, although we don't know if we can win, we just have to give it our all."

The 24-year-old midfielder is one of the most experienced players of the team. He has played in two recent AFF Cups witnessing Laos' defeats to Việt Nam in both editions.

"Vietnamese players are good because their domestic leagues are real quality.  This year they also have a naturalised player. We read news and know about Nguyễn Xuân Son who has sharp scoring skills," said Bounkong who scored for Laos during a 1-1 match against Thailand in November.

Good news for the ASEAN Football Federation as FIFA confirmed that the ASEAN Cup will be a level A event in the world governing football body's competition system from this year.

It means that the 28-year-old tournament is equivalent to qualification rounds of World Cup, world and continental and tournaments.

Teams will be able to call up their best players without depending on the clubs, however it is too late for this year since player selection has already been fixed and made.

But it does mean that if teams do well in the Cup they can gain points and improve their world rankings, while taking minus points for poor results.

After Laos, Việt Nam will play Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar in next matches.  VNS