HÀ NỘI — Quảng Ninh Coal will not be playing on their home turf in today’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup match against Yadanarbon, which will be a disadvantage, coach Phan Thanh Hùng said.

Quảng Ninh Coal’s Cẩm Phả Stadium did not qualify for the tournament, and so the hosts must welcome their Myanmar rivals at Hà Nội’s Mỹ Đình Stadium for their debut match in the continent-level tournament.

“It would have been a chance for us to play internationally in front of our home supporters in Quảng Ninh Province. However, Cẩm Phả did not qualify. So, we must travel to Hà Nội. It will consume our time and energy,” Hùng said at a press briefing yesterday in the city.

“It is our first match in an international competition. We are like fish out of water, but I believe that the more we play, the more confident we will get,” said Hùng, who took part in AFC events in the previous years when he was in charge of current national champions Hà Nội FC.

Regarding his rivals, he said that Yadanarbon was a new club in their domestic league and the tournament, but they had played well in the group rounds with their team of quality naturalised players.

“Myanmar team is famous for its physical football but Yadanarbon are different. They are a team of disciplined players with good technique. That’s the reason they could beat Singapore (Home United FC) in the last round and top the Group H,” Hùng said.

In today’s game, Quảng Ninh Coal will play without Kizito who will soon be one of their naturalised players. However, his documents were not in order, and so he will be able to play only by next month.

Hùng will be relying on national striker Vũ Minh Tuấn and foreigners Patiyo and Jardel.

On the other side, Belgian coach Rene Desaeyere of Yadanarbon believed his team could achieve positive results, as they did against Vietnamese SHB Đà Nẵng in the Toyota Mekong Championship recently.

He said the AFC Cup was a chance for the younger members of the club to get more experience, as Yadanarbon would be providing 10 players to the national team.

Yadanarbon won their local tournament in seven rounds. They dominated the tournament with four foreigners, but only Cameroon midfielder William has come to Việt Nam.

He is accompanied by highest scorer Win Naing Soe, key forward Aung Thu and captain Yan Paing, who have been regular members of Myanmar national team.

Desaeyere said Quảng Ninh were strong in Việt Nam, and he hoped his team could have a good match and many supporters would be there to cheer the teams.

The game will kick off at 6pm and will be aired live on FoxSport2. — VNS