Vietnam vs Indonesia Prediction: Vietnam to edge close encounter

Friday afternoon sees the two bottom teams of Group D face-off as Vietnam take on Indonesia, with the losers almost certainly being eliminated from the Asian Cup.

Both sides got off to losing starts in the competition, with Philippe Troussier’s Vietnam eventually being beaten 4-2 by heavyweights Japan, whilst Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia lost to Iraq.

Match Odds

Vietnam are 5/6 to claim their first win of the tournament, whereas the Red and Whites of Indonesia are the 11/4 underdogs to pick up all three points.

A draw provides odds of 12/5, while Nguyen Van Toan is among the favourite to score in this fixture at 15/8.

Team News

The Golden Star Warriors produced an admirable display when facing Japan and even took the lead against a side ranked 73 places above them in the world rankings.

Troussier is therefore unlikely to tinker with his starting eleven too much, with goalscorers Pham Tuan Hai and Nguyen Dinh Bac expected to retain their places.

Some of Indonesia’s squad may be known to English football fans, with Wolves’ Justin Hubner, Ipswich Town’s Elkan Baggott and former Swansea defender Jordi Amat all starting in their 3-1 defeat to Iraq.

All are expected to keep their places, while there may be starting spots for both Witan Sulaeman and Dimas Drajad, who came off the bench last time out.

Vietnam to win @ 5/6

Vietnam have won just one of their last five games, losing the other four, but this is still better form than Indonesia going into this fixture.

Tae-yong’s side have avoided defeat just once in their six games since the beginning of November, a 1-1 draw in the Philippines, and have scored just four goals during that run.

Despite neither side entering this meeting in positive form, Vietnam remain the worthy favourites to win given they reached the quarter-finals of this competition in the last edition.

They also boast the better head-to-head record when facing Indonesia of late, as they are unbeaten in the last six encounters (W3, D3).

Indonesia have only qualified for the Asian Cup four times in their history and on each occasion failed to get through the group stages.

The squad of the Red and Whites does not possess the same experience as Vietnam, with no player appearing more than Pratama Arhan’s 40 times.

Goals are also likely to be an issue for the side ranked 155th in the world, with Witan Sulaeman’s nine the best any member of the squad can muster.

Both Teams To Score - No @ 10/11

Despite both netting in their previous games this meeting is unlikely to result in a goal fest, with each of the last four head-to-heads seeing no more than one side finding the net.

Each of Vietnam’s last nine victories, stretching back to 2022, have seen the Golden Star Warriors win to nil, with three of Indonesia’s five victories last year also meeting this metric.

Expect whoever scores first to hold on for what could prove to be a crucial three points in the context of the group.