Riedl had the team train for two hours on January 23 afternoon to get his men acclimate to the cold weather. During practice, first choice's players worked in position similar to their lineup in last week's match against Singapore.

After a warm-up on January 23, the team was divided by Riedl into two groups for defence-attack training on practice fields at the My Dinh National Stadium, which is hosting today's game.

Riedl said he did not want to test a new formation because it would be tough to play away in Bangkok if they did not take advantage of their home field today.

The team has to win today to go further in the Cup, he said after the team's training on January 22.

The team secured a 9-0 win over group minnows Laos and two draws with the hosts and Indonesia to finish second behind group winners Singapore.

Meanwhile, the Thai team has an advantage with the return of captain Kiatisak 'Zico' Sanamuang, who played for V-League two-time champions Hoang Anh Gia Lai before becoming the team's coach, and Datsakorn Thonglao, who made a record transfer of US$83,300 to Gia Lai from his local club BEC Tero.

The Thais started training on January 22, a day after their arrival in Hanoi. Their coach Thavatchan Chanvit said he was expecting a tough match against cold weather and local fans. Even a draw would put them in a comfortable position, he said.

On January 23, the Vietnam Football Development Stock company (VFD) had over 10,000 tickets on sale for the match.