Before the session, VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu, who is also head of the Vietnamese delegation at the tournament, met the squad and reminded the players of the need to remain fully focused during the final days of preparation.

The first-leg result has placed Vietnam in a commanding position. Goals from Nguyen Hai Long and Nguyen Quang Hai at Rajamangala mean Thailand must overturn a two-goal deficit in Hanoi.

Yet Vietnam are determined not to allow that advantage to alter their mentality.

"We don't consider ourselves to have an advantage. We are treating the match as if it is still 0-0," Nguyen Dinh Bac said. "Vietnam will do everything to win. Our feet are still on the ground. Whoever starts, all the players share the same determination."

The approach reflects Kim Sang Sik's own message before the return leg.

Vietnam are attempting something the national team has never previously achieved: successfully defending the Southeast Asian championship.

Vietnam won the regional title in 2008 under Henrique Calisto and again in 2018 under Park Hang Seo, but neither side retained the trophy at the following tournament.

Kim now has the opportunity to take his team into a different chapter of Vietnamese football history.

"Vietnam are only one final match away from the championship," Kim said. "We have trained for months to reach this point. We want to produce a good match and create beautiful memories for the supporters. This match will be written into the history of Vietnamese football. The players are the main characters in that story."

Vietnam also enter the second leg with a full squad and no reported injury concerns.

That gives Kim considerable flexibility after his substitutions proved decisive in Bangkok. Hai Long and Quang Hai both came off the bench before scoring the goals that transformed the first leg.

Dinh Bac, meanwhile, is expected to remain an important attacking option after producing the backheel that created Hai Long's opening goal.

The young forward admitted he had not been at his physical best in Bangkok.

"This is the final match. My teammates and I are very excited and determined to give everything to bring the supporters a victory," Dinh Bac said. "I was a little tired and wasn't very happy with myself in the first leg, but I will come back stronger in the return leg."

Vietnam's confidence is also underpinned by a remarkable unbeaten sequence.

The victory at Rajamangala extended Kim's side to 25 matches without defeat, comprising 22 wins and three draws. Vietnam have scored 65 goals and conceded only 10 during that run.

Their last defeat came against Thailand in a friendly on September 10, 2024.

But inside the Vietnam camp, statistics and the two-goal cushion have been pushed aside.

There are still 90 minutes to play.

And only when those 90 minutes are over will Vietnam allow themselves to look at the trophy.

Dai Nam