The COVID-19 pandemic broke out all over the world, causing FIFA to make a decision to postpone all matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.
The rest of the tournament is expected to take place in October and November. This unintentionally makes it difficult for teams from Southeast Asia, when the AFF Cup 2020 will also take place at the same time. Preparing and securing forces for 2 tournaments at the same time is extremely difficult.
Therefore, Thailand is considering not going to attend the AFF Cup 2020. Instead, they will focus all their energy on the goal in the 2022 World Cup qualifying in Asia.
"The Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) does not stipulate that all countries must participate in the AFF Cup. Therefore, we can refuse to play in this year's tournament. We hope that the pandemic will end. The illness will be resolved and the tournament will take place, but nothing has been said yet," FAT President Somyot Poompanmuang said.
Thailand's failure to participate in the AFF Cup 2020 will open the opportunity to win the remaining teams, in which Vietnam will still be the No. 1 candidate for this title. But if Thailand is absent, the tournament will lose its inherent appeal. Besides, if Vietnam won the championship, it would not be complete.
Under Park Hang-seo, at the national level, Vietnam has won many titles in both the region and the continent. However, Que Ngoc Hai and his teammates have not been able to defeat Thailand in an official tournament once.
The last time Vietnam won over Thailand was at the King's Cup 2019. But this was just a friendly tournament, and Thailand at that time did not have the strongest squad. And in the last two matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Park Hang Seo's army only got a draw before their opponents.
Therefore, the fans as well as the players themselves are very determined to beat Thailand at the upcoming AFF Cup 2020. This will help Vietnamese football to assert more firmly the title "the power house of Southeast Asia" at the present time.
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