SINGAPORE (12 May 2025) – Công An Hà Nội FC coach Mano Polking believes the Vietnamese club’s win against Buriram United FC in the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ group stage will give his players the belief required to repeat that success against the Thai outfit and lift the inaugural title.
The pair face off on Wednesday at Hanoi’s Hang Day Stadium in the first encounter of the two-legged final with Polking’s squad buoyed by their 2-1 victory over the Thai League 1 champions when the teams met in the opening round of group matches last August.
“It’s a completely different game, but it’s important for us to know that we can beat them because we have beaten them,” says the Brazilian. “We have a chance. We are not in the final to lose and in these two games anything can happen.
“It will be quite a different set-up; they will use many different players. In the first game they rotated a lot, and they gave some chances to players who are not at the club anymore.”
Polking has detailed knowledge of Buriram United having coached many of the key players within the squad when he led Thailand to ASEAN Championship victories in 2020 and 2022.
He subsequently moved to Vietnam to take over at Công An Hà Nội in 2024 and has a strong understanding of the competitive tension that exists between the two nations.
“We know it’s a big game and there’s always a big rivalry between Vietnam and Thailand,” he says. “They’re both big teams with good foreign players and many national team players, so we can expect a quality game in the final.
“I believe our fans will come out for us in big numbers like they did against PSM Makassar in the semi-final.”
Công An Hà Nội’s season is approaching its climax with Polking’s team booking their place in the Shopee Cup™ final with a 2-1 aggregate win over PSM Makassar after also confirming their place in the last four of the Vietnamese National Football Cup.
Buriram United, meanwhile, go into the first leg of the final on a rich run of form, the club having successfully defended their Thai League 1 title before defeating BG Pathum United FC 3-1 over two legs to advance to the Shopee Cup™ final.
Osmar Loss’ side then recorded a 3-0 over BG Pathum United last Saturday to reach the Thai FA Cup final and keep alive their hopes of claiming four trophies this season after they also qualified for the semi-finals of the Thai League Cup.
“We are really happy to be in the final and to get the team that beat us in the first round and in our first game,” says Loss of his team’s Shopee Cup™ final opponents.
“I think they are a really good team, and they have good foreign players but, at that time, we were in the beginning of our season. I think that now we are stronger than in the past and more confident. I think that it will be a great final for the Shopee Cup™.”
The second leg of the final will be played at Buriram Stadium on 21 May.
SHOPEE CUP™ SEMI-FINAL SCHEDULE
| DATE | MATCH # | MATCH | VENUE | LOCAL
KICK-OFF TIME |
GMT KICK-OFF
TIME |
|
| 1st Leg
14 May |
35 | F1 | CÔNG AN HÀ NÔI FC (VIE) v BURIRAM UNITED FC (THA) | Hang Day Stadium
Hanoi |
1930 | 1230 |
| 2nd Leg
21 May |
36 | F2 | BURIRAM UNITED FC (THA) v CÔNG AN HÀ NÔI FC (VIE) | Buriram Stadium
Buriram |
1930 | 1230 |
The Shopee Cup™ final will be broadcast LIVE on domestic television networks and streaming platforms listed below.
| 14-May-25 | |
| Công An Hà Nội FC v Buriram United FC | |
| BRU | FACEBOOK/BTV SPORT |
| @ASEANUTDFC | |
| CAM | BAYON TV |
| FACEBOOK/BTV SPORT | |
| INA | SOCCERSTARS |
| VISION+ | |
| LAO | FACEBOOK/BTV NEWS |
| @ASEANUTDFC | |
| MAS | ASTRO |
| MYA | SKYNET |
| PHI | FACEBOOK/BTV SPORT |
| @ASEANUTDFC | |
| SIN | MEDIACORP/MEWATCH |
| THA | THAIRATH |
| TRUEVISIONS | |
| AIS PLAY | |
| VIE | FPT PLAY |
BRU – BRUNEI, CAM – CAMBODIA, INA – INDONESIA, LAO – LAOS, MAS – MALAYSIA, MYA – MYANMAR, PHI – PHILIPPINES, SIN – SINGAPORE, THA – THAILAND, VIE – VIETNAM
The 2024/25 Shopee Cup™ is the first edition of the regional club competition, which brings together the leading clubs from across Southeast Asia.
For more information about the Shopee Cup™, please visit https://aseanutdfc.com/ and @aseanutdfc on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn.
