After adraw in the opening match, when they allowed Indonesia to come frombehind twice, Vietnam must beat Laos to maintain their chances ofqualifying for the last four.

On paper, Vietnam, the 2008 champions, are clear favourites over Laos. But Miura does not take anything for granted.

"Wegot only one point in the opening game. Both Vietnam and Laos will tryto win the second match, so it is a very important game for both teams,"he said.

The Japanese coach kept mum about the possibility of a new-look defence and a new goalkeeper.

Itremains uncertain whether star striker Le Cong Vinh, who shone with awonderful goal in the second half after coming on in place of youngstriker Nguyen Hai Anh, will be included in the starting line-up.

Meanwhile,Miura's counterpart David Booth acknowledged the gap between Laos andother top teams in the region and was modest about his team's chances,hoping for a positive display rather than a win.

"The first gameagainst the Philippines was very disappointing for us and we hope we canput in a stronger performance against Vietnam. We know that it will bevery difficult but we are looking forward to it and will try to have agood game," Booth said.

In the other match of the group,Indonesia will also face the same task as Vietnam. They must beat thePhilippines in order to avoid an early exit.

Beating Laos 4-1 inthe first match was not enough to put the team on the same level, saidPhilippines' coach Thomas Dooley, who has been working in Manila sinceMarch.

"We are looking forward to the game tomorrow. We areobviously facing one of the strongest teams in the tournament and we areunderdogs," the American coach said.

A win would send thePhilippines through to the semi-finals for a third time while afull-point from the match would put Indonesia in a commanding positionto reach the last four.

🌞 "Thomas is a smart coach and he deliveredimmediately. The chance is 50-50. We are looking forward to the matchand are prepared for it and hopefully it's a fair match," said Indonesiacoach Alfred Riedl.-VNA