Singapore: It’s a top-of-the-table clash in Group B as Singapore welcome the visit of 2018 champions Vietnam with both nations knowing just what’s at stake in their penultimate match of the group stage of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022.

A win for Vietnam would secure their progression through to the semi-finals whilst a Singapore victory would mean they need only a point against Malaysia on the final day to reach the knockout stage.

Both nations are coming off the back of wins as well as having to travel to Singapore on a short turnaround and those factors lead Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo to believing that this will be a tightly fought clash at the Jalan Besar stadium.

“Singapore and Vietnam both have two wins and have had to move to come to Singapore so I think there is no advantage with either nation, however, as is the case in every match we play we are coming here with the clear aim to win the game.”

Vietnam will be without the suspended Nguyen Van Toan after he was sent off in a fiery clash against Malaysia with Park noting that, at times, his team may need to slightly tone down their aggressive approach.

“Football is a contact sport, it’s not like volleyball, and there are laws of the game and a referee whose decisions we must follow.

“So, after the game against Malaysia, I talked with the players and told them to follow those laws but not get too excited and to try and control things but whilst still playing within the laws of the game.”

A win for Singapore would be a massive boost in their quest to reach back-to-back semi-finals and their coach, Takayuki Nishigaya, is aiming to take full advantage of being back in front of what’s expected to be another bumper home crowd.

“We’ve prepared well and we know that we are facing a strong team.

“The key thing was to collect the six points from the first two matches and we’ve done that even while facing various issues, so now the focus is solely on doing well against Vietnam.

 “Of course it’s also a home game for us and we want to play well in front of our supporters, to play our style, be aggressive and get another win.”