Brendan plays an important role in the midfield of Malaysia

At the AFF Cup 2018, Vietnam dominated the game and staged some dynamic attacks to end the match. However, in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Malaysia turned over a new leaf.

"We got a different team now. We got a different style. We are more comfortable on the ball and like to play out from the back. It's going to be a difficult game,"  he said yesterday.

The 31-year-old midfielder knows the strength of Vietnam after having met them many times, but he is confident that they’ll see good results if they try their best.

“It’s going to be a difficult ball game because Vietnam is tough and has a good track record. We’re not worrying too much about Vietnam’s style. We should only be concerned about our own style. If we continue to prepare the way we have been, we’ll be able to do the job.”

To prepare for the match in Hanoi, Malaysia had an exhibition game with Sri Lanka, scoring 6 goals against the opposing team. However, Brendan did not linger much on the win.

“We are not getting overly confident. We did well. We did what we wanted to do on the night. We tried out a lot of new combinations and a lot of new players. I think the players on the team now are in top form and they are the best in the country. We can only go into the game (against Vietnam) with what’s in front of us and that’s what coach Tan has prepared us for. Hopefully it will be enough on that day.”

The midfielder also stressed that the whole team need to maintain their spirit- that this will be a key in the battle against Vietnam

“It’s a new era, a new time, a new team and we just have to stay confident, play our game and hopefully we’ll come through with the victory,” he said.