AFF Cup 2022 kicks off today
The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic caused the previous AFF Cup to be postponed from 2020 to 2021, and forced the format to take place as before 2018 as a centralized organization in one place (Singapore).
After the epidemic is under control, the AFF Cup 2022 will return with 10 teams divided into two round-robin groups, each team playing two home matches and two away matches. If the teams have equal points, priority will be given to the head-to-head stats (points, goal difference, number of goals). Each group selects the two teams with the best records to advance to the semi-finals. From here, the matches take place in two legs, home and away.
Two days after Argentina won the World Cup 2022, Group A AFF Cup 2022 entered the competition with the opening match when Cambodia received the Philippines and defending champion Thailand as a guest before Brunei.
Thailand does not have the strongest force in the absence of a star lineup, most notably Chanathip Songkrasin, Supachok Sarachat. Coach Mano Polking still has veteran players like Teerasil Dangda, Theerathon Bunmathan and gives opportunities to young talents like Ekanit Panya.
Thailand is still rated much higher than Brunei - the team that has entered the group stage of the AFF Cup for the first time since 1996. "War Elephants" are forecasted to win big in case they have to race against other players. direct competitors such as the Philippines or Indonesia.
Head-to-head history favors Thailand with five wins and one draw. The last time the two teams met was in 1997 and Thailand also won with the same score 6-0 in the last two confrontations with Brunei.
The remaining match between Cambodia and the Philippines is considered to be more balanced. Cambodia continues to be led by coach Keisuke Honda - a Japanese football legend. However, their preparation was not good when they lost to Malaysia 0-5 in a friendly match on 11/12.
The Philippines also does not have the strongest force, without many players competing in Europe because the tournament is not part of FIFA days. However, the physique and quality of the players are better than Cambodia, and at the same time, the minimum loss of 0-1 against a strong opponent in Vietnam will give more motivation to the new coach Josep Ferre and his students.
Confrontation history also records the advantage for the Philippines when winning three and losing one in the last four matches.
The previous matchup took place between Myanmar and Malaysia. Political instability and a number of good players not being promoted to Myanmar made Myanmar undervalued in this tournament, and the friendly match lost 0-6 to Thailand affected the morale of the whole team. Meanwhile, Malaysia was breathed new life under Korean coach Kim Pan-gon. The team won against Cambodia and the Maldives in the friendly series prepared with a firmer and more disciplined play than the previous period. Despite the absence of many stars in the strongest club in the country Johor Darul Tazim, Malaysia is still highly appreciated with Vietnam to win two tickets of Group B to the semi-finals.
