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The venue and time for the semi-final matches of men's football have been changed. This follows the team managers' meeting with the four teams - Vietnam and Malaysia (from Group A) as well as Laos and Singapore (from Group B) - which was held this morning at the Laos Football Federation headquarters this morning.

"The change is deemed to be necessary to accomodate TV requirements and that of the fans," said Phouvanh Vongsouthi, the president of the LFF.

The Vietnam-Singapore match will be played at the Chao Anouvong Stadium, Vientiane Capital. with kick-off at 18:00 hrs while the Laos-Malaysia clash will be held at the Main Stadium of the National Sports Complex, kick-off at 19:00hrs.

After opening their SEA Games campaign on home soil with a 1-1 draw against Myanmar , the 2007 bronze medallists, the Lao women's squad is now looking to improve in their match against defending champions Thailand .

Facing Thailand this afternoon could be too early for Laos , but they are hoping the home advantage will spur them on to a good result.

Assistant Coach Viengsavanh Sengchanh said “The Thai side is another strong rival for us because they are the reigning gold medallists from the last SEA Games.”

“But we still have a 50:50 chance to do well in this match.”

“To know if we have a chance to get a medal we have to see the result of the first game today between Myanmar and Vietnam , then we have to see how we go.

“Our players are all fit and ready for the game today.”

The first match today will begin at 1:30pm between Myanmar and Vietnam , followed by Laos against Thailand at 3:45pm. Both matches will be played at the National University Stadium.

In the men's event, Timor Leste plays Thailand at 3pm and Cambodia takes on Malaysia , with both matches at the Chao Anouvong Stadium.

Both men's and women's football teams will play their first matches against Myanmar , which has proved in past SEA Games competitions to be a formidable opponent.

The matches will take place on December 3 and 5 at the National University of Laos stadium and the National Stadium.

Lao Men's Football Team Manager Viphet Sihachakr said yesterday he thought his team would play five matches in the tournament because the players were well prepared both in terms of training and fitness.

“ Myanmar is a strong SEA Games team. They were runners-up at the 24th SEA Games in Thailand in 2007 but that's in the past. Today I believe our athletes can do better than before due to our experience from the many test matches we played,” he said.

Lao footballers lost many tournaments in the run-up to the 25th SEA Games. But coaches and team assistants have worked hard to improve the players' skills and the team manager has confirmed the team's performance is already 30 percent better since their last match.

“One thing we have to remember is that playing at home we have an advantage because our supporters will be cheering us on, just as they did at the 4-Nations Football Tournament. I was delighted to see so many Lao fans in the stadium all shouting for us. This is just great for our players,” Mr Viphet said.

He asked football fans to continue to cheer on the players, saying their support would make them stronger and better able to fight for their country.

Lao hopes are also riding with the women's football team.

Lao Women's Football Team Manager Ms Valy Vessaphong said she had asked Myanmar to send a team for a friendly game in Laos before the SEA Games but they declined, saying they were too busy.

“This will be a big match because we've never met them since we lost to them 0-6 at the 24th SEA Games. But now things are different. Our players have improved and are ready for their first match,” Ms Valy said.

She said Myanmar might not be aware of how much the Lao team had improved and Laos also didn't know, but the match would be the true testing ground.

After today's match against Myanmar , the women's team will play Thailand on December 8, Malaysia on December 11 and Vietnam on December 13. December 16 will be the final day of the tournament.

Matches will take place at the National University of Laos and the Chao Anouvong Stadium.

The men's football team begins its campaign tomorrow against Myanmar and will face Indonesia on December 7 and Singapore on December 10 at the National Stadium and Chao Anouvong Stadium.



By Souknilundon Southivongnorath

Vientianetimes

It's apparent this year’s SEA Games will be no walkover for any of the football teams, men’s or women’s, given the line-up in the draw. In the men’s draw there are just eight teams taking part because Brunei and the Philippines are not entering either a men’s or women’s team this year, according to the Asean Football Federation. In the first round stage defending champion Thailand has been drawn in Group A alongside Vietnam, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Cambodia.

Hosts Laos have been drawn in Group B along with Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia. In the 2007 SEA Games, Laos achieved a goalless draw with Singapore before being soundly beaten 0-4 by Malaysia and then losing 1-2 to Vietnam. The Lao men’s football team will begin their campaign at this year’s SEA Games on Saturday when they face Myanmar, who took the silver medal at the 2007 SEA Games.

This match will take place on Saturday at 17:45 at the National Stadium. Other matches will pit Laos against Indonesia on December 7 and against Singapore on December 10. Both of these games will be played out at the Chao Anouvong Stadium, with the kick off at 17:45. Football experts predict that Thailand is the most likely choice for a semifinal berth in Group A.

This would be no surprise since they have taken the gold medal in men’s football for the last eight editions of the SEA Games since 1993. However, Laos is also a favourite for the semifinals from Group B because they have the home crowd advantage. The competition is tough this year but local fans are full of hope that Laos will make the semifinals stage, due to the strength of emotion pouring out from a million hearts.

There is no doubt the thunderous cheers of spectators are very important in boosting the players’ morale and confidence. Asean Football Federation records dating back to 1959 show Laos reached the semifinals in 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, after other results went their way.

Myanmar took gold in the event after defeating Vietnam in the final. Thailand took the bronze medal after they beat Laos 5-2 in the third place play-off. At that time the games were known as the Southeast Asian Peninsula Games (SEAP Games). Since the name was changed to the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in 1977, Laos has never reached the semi-finals. It was not until the 2003 SEA Games that a Lao women’s team entered any international competition.

Their first steps into sporting water were hesitant and the team eventually withdrew because it was felt the players lacked the experience to compete in such a major event. Lao women finally made their SEA Games debut in 2007 in Thailand, when they reached the semi-finals on goal difference after a 2-2 draw against the Philippines, but lost to Vietnam 1-4, while the Philippines lost 0-10 to Vietnam.

In the semi-finals, Laos lost 0-8 to host Thailand, while in the bronze medal match they went down 0-5 to Myanmar. It’s anybody’s guess what the outcome of this year’s line-up will be for either men or women.

This is football, and everything depends on the ball getting past the keeper into the net and teams making the most of their chances. There’s no knowing the result until the final whistle blows.

Vientianetimes

The hugely anticipated football match between Thailand and Vietnam will feature on the first day of the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane tomorrow. Kick-starting the event will be a match between Malaysia and Timor Leste, before the competition’s heavyweights take to the field. Vietnamese footballers were the first arrivals of the thousands athletes participating in the games, touching down before the football teams from Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Vietnamese Coach Henrique Calisto said Saturday’s match with Thailand will be the biggest for his team, given the strength of their opponents.

“Just win, just lose or just draw, we still don’t know, but we will do our best in the match,” said the Portuguese coach. “The last time we met them recently ended in a draw, so we don’t know what will happen on Wednesday.” While the Vietnamese team is hopeful of matching up to Thailand, the Thai team believe they can show their supremacy in the first match. Thai Coach Stephen Darby said on Sunday his team was preparing perfectly and was confident of winning the match.

“We believe our players can get a result on Wednesday, and we’d like to be playing again on the final day of the SEA Games.”

The men’s football teams are divided into two groups. Group A comprises Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Cambodia, while Group B consists of Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia.

The Lao men's football U-23 squad will play the home team in Phnom Penh , Cambodia , today at this year's Cambodian International Football Tournament BIDC Cup, which runs from November 8-14.

The opponents will be the same team Lao players will compete against at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane next month.

The Lao team's assistant manager Prasatxay Philaphandeth said yesterday the team would use the match to study Cambodia 's style closely. “We just want to compare our playing style with their style, as this will be very valuable for our team.”

He added that on Sunday, Cambodia won over Hoang Anh Gia Lai of Vietnam 3-2, after the Vietnamese team led 2-0 in the first half.

“We haven't seen them play for a long time so the Sunday match could prove that they got better after they got an experienced football coach,” Mr Prasatxay explained.

He said the Cambodian team at tonight's match would use more long balls, which is different to the Lao team's style of play which favours short balls, so the match would determine which is the better method.

The first day of the tournament saw Laos draw 1-1 with Vissai Ninh Binh of Vietnam and Cambodia come out on top over Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

Mr Prasatxay said the Lao team was very good, but could only draw with the Vietnamese team.

He said the Vietnamese team had many international players. They committed so many fouls in the penalty area they got four yellow cards, but Laos didn't get any.

“There are no certainties in this game, but we have to make sure we win so we can be a good host of the SEA Games,” Mr Prasaxay said.

On November 10, Vissai Ninh Binh will play Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Cambodia will play Laos , while on November 12 Laos will play Hoang Anh Gia and Cambodia will play Vissai Ninh Binh.

The finals will take place on November 14.

The Cambodian website http://roubroum.blogspot.com/ reported that the tournament will be broadcast live on Cambodian TV5 starting at 3.30 pm.

The tournament champion will win US$20,000, the runner-up US$10,000 and third place will take US$5,000.

The footballer voted best player will get US$1,000, and the top scorer and best goalkeeper will each get US$1,000.


By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes
Photo: http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk