Myanmar coach Jørn Andersen expects nothing less than three points when his side host Laos in Group B on Tuesday to keep their knock-out hopes alive in the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™.
Following an opening 2-1 defeat to Malaysia at home, Myanmar defeated the Philippines 4-1 to stay in the hunt for a top-two finish in the group and will face a Laos team who have suffered three consecutive losses and conceded the most goals in the tournament.
“It is the most important game, and the priority is to win,” said Andersen, who took over the team’s helm earlier this month following successful stints in Hong Kong and DPR Korea.
“A 1-0 victory would be enough because we have to secure the three points. We know Laos have suffered defeats by scorelines such as 5-0, 4-0 and 4-1. However, tomorrow is a new match. It can be very difficult to face a team that defend deeply and look to counter-attack. We have worked on finding solutions that will allow us to create chances and score against them.”
A win on Tuesday will ensure Myanmar stay in the race for a semi-final berth before they travel to face seven-times champions Thailand in Bangkok on Saturday. Myanmar have won all four previous encounters against the Laotians in the tournament celebrating its 30th anniversary, with the latest being a 3-2 victory at home two years ago.
The Norwegian tactician has enjoyed watching his charges show gradual improvements since taking charge and was particularly delighted with the convincing win against the Philippines, who were semi-finalists in 2024.
“I think everyone could see that we produced a good performance. We were able to play more in the style we want. When we play in that way, we create more chances, score more goals and collect more points. That is how we want to continue playing,” he said.
“When the players can perform the basic elements of football properly, the team can make significant progress. We may be considered the favourites (tomorrow), but that will make it a very difficult match for us.”
Laos coach Vladica Grujić is keeping his fingers crossed his side will not concede the numerical advantage against Myanmar after watching Phetdavanh Somsanid earn the red cards in the match against Thailand and the Philippines.
“We have played three matches, and you could say that we played two of them with only 10 players. It is not easy to keep the players motivated after those experiences,” said Grujić.
“Myanmar are a very competitive and physically strong team. They are particularly dangerous on the counter-attack and have many good qualities. However, they also leave spaces that we will try to exploit as we look to create our own opportunities.”
Viengxay Sydavong has also had the misfortune of scoring two own goals leaving Grujić perplexed. “We have all been surprised by what has happened. The same player scored two own goals and also received two red cards at similar stages of the matches. These situations can happen in football, and it is difficult to explain exactly why. Perhaps the players were nervous or lacked experience of competing at this level.”
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