Malaysia chose the Kuala Lumpur stadium to play the ASEAN Cup, Coach Kim was concerned about the turf

Because Bukit Jalil Stadium is being repaired to prepare for the 2027 SEA Games, Malaysia chose Kuala Lumpur Stadium with a capacity of 18,000 seats to compete in the ASEAN Cup.

This football field also witnessed Cong Phuong and his teammates triumphantly win Australia 5-1, Hong Kong 5-6, and Taiwan 6-1 in the 2014 U19 Asian qualifiers.

The drawback of this yard is that it still uses ginger-leaf grass, which is hard and thick compared to soft, flat needle grass. Therefore, during the afternoon practice session on August 15, Coach Kim arrived half an hour before the practice schedule at 5:00 p.m. to observe and learn carefully. He walked around the yard, testing the turf.

The semi-finals will be played at 9:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. Hanoi time), but the organizers arranged for the Vietnamese team to practice at 5:00 p.m., a sunny time frame. As for host Malaysia, training at 6:30 p.m. is cooler.

But in order not to waste an hour of getting acquainted, the players arrived early, changed their clothes, then warmed up on the sideline and waited until it was time to go in and get acquainted immediately.

Sharing at the press conference late on the morning of August 15, striker Nguyen Xuan Son said he did not like playing on grass like this. But that is not an obstacle, because he has played on similar grass surfaces at Go Dau, Gia Lai...

However, Coach Kim was still thoughtful and worried while the players were practicing, because grass surfaces like this often lead to injury for players. Host Malaysia also lost 3 players due to injuries after the group stage.

Vietnam has a head-to-head advantage over Malaysia, winning 17 matches, drawing 3 and winning 5. However, coach Kim Sang-sik always reminds the players to be serious and respect their opponents, to achieve good results tomorrow August 16, creating a favorable premise for the return match in My Dinh, Hanoi on June 19.