Cambodia and Laos clash on Wednesday with at least one nation assured of collecting their first points at the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup.

Both sides have made no secret of the fact that they’re opting to play with young teams with an eye to the future, but equally this head-to-head clash could be a real confidence boost if one or the other was to collect a win.

For Cambodia, the constant mantra has been on developing a possession-based game and coach Ryu Hirose said that will very much be the same approach tomorrow.

“This is a match where we have a good chance of winning our first game and that’s our target," said the Japanese coach. 

“For us, it’s a balance between attack and defence but we want to put pressure on the opposition in order to get higher ball possession.

“That ball possession isn’t just in the final third but in all areas of the pitch. We want to build up from the back and dominate games in all areas of the pitch against any opposition.”

Laos, too, are welcoming the challenge of facing their neighbours, with Cambodia the only nation that they’ve defeated in the history of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Coach V. Selvaraj said it would be a real boost for the nation if they were to once again topple Cambodia in their final match at the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup.

“They have more experience than us but we have a game plan that we are confident will work tomorrow," he said. 

“This is a big rivalry for sure and what we have left is pride. We went for a younger team and we want to keep giving the younger players some exposure but we have to play as hard as we can with that pride on the line.”