Vietnamese Players Reveal SUGBK's Angker During Full House

Doan Van Hau (kir) admits SUGBK angker (Instagram/@doanvanhau_1904).

JAKARTA - Vietnam defender, Doan Van Hau, revealed the facts ahead of the match against the Indonesian national team in Jakarta. He explained how 'angker' the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGBK) was the headquarters of the Garuda Squad when it was full house.

Vietnam will visit SUGBK on Thursday, March 21, 2024, WIB night. The meeting is the agenda for the second round of the 2026 Asian Zone World Cup Qualification.

The match in SUGBK is certain to be lively and full of support for the host. The reason is, sales of 77,000 tickets have been sold out even since Tuesday, March 19, 2024.

The atmosphere of SUGBK which will be reddened and thundered turns out to have a special impression on Doan Van Hau. Although he will not appear in the match later due to injury, he revealed an experience that could be anticipated for his colleagues at The Golden Stars.

The player said that the SUGBK 'angker' would be felt in the match later if it was full house. Big pressure will come from supporters who can clearly make the visitors' mentality overwhelmed.

"It (played on SUGBK) I experienced it when my team and I played in the first leg of the 2022 AFF Cup semifinals," he said as quoted by VN Express, Thursday, March 21, 2024.

"If the mentality is not strong, the visitors will be overwhelmed from the early minutes so it is difficult to appear with 100 percent of their abilities," said Van Hau.

Reflecting on his experience, Van Hau also suggested that senior players in the team could help juniors to cope with tensions when appearing at SUGBK.

"Senior players need to guide young players to overcome it. In the last game, I restrained myself and I told myself that the shout (Indonesian supporters) was an encouragement for me," said Van Hau.

Furthermore, the Vietnamese left-back realized that the great support from the host supporters would cause high tension. Therefore, he also reminded his colleagues not to be provoked by provocations by Indonesian national team players.

"By the way, I still remember clearly what happened with the Indonesian national team players beside me suddenly being hit. The referee punished me in a match at My Dinh Stadium in early 2023," he said.