The match between Vietnam National Team and Nepal was unexpectedly postponed.

Because of the weather, the game between Vietnam National Team and Nepal at Thong Nhat Stadium had to be delayed for half an hour.

According to the original schedule set by the organizers, the match between Vietnam National Team and Nepal at Thong Nhat Stadium on the evening of October 14 was planned to start at 7:30 PM. However, due to heavy rain in Ho Chi Minh City affecting the quality of play, the match had to be temporarily halted.

The game is expected to be delayed by 30 minutes and will begin at 8:00 PM. This means Vietnam will kick off simultaneously with Malaysia, who are hosting Laos at home. Nevertheless, despite the delay, the quality of the match will likely be impacted by the wet pitch and slippery ball.

Notably, Nepal’s head coach made a surprising prediction at the pre-match press conference, expressing hope for heavy rain as it could be advantageous for Nepal. Coach Matt Ross stated that Nepalese players enjoy playing in the rain, and the heavier the rain, the greater their advantage:

"In Nepal, we have just gone through the rainy season, so the players are accustomed to it. Recently, we played in Bangladesh on a poor pitch and under bad weather conditions. Some Nepalese players compete in the Bangladesh league and are used to playing in heavy rain,"said the head coach of Nepal National Team.

"Therefore, we will have no problems and might even prefer playing under these conditions. The heavier the rain, the more it benefits us,"the strategist asserted. This is quite an unusual preference for the South Asian team, as playing in heavy rain usually causes many difficulties for players and also somewhat reduces the quality of play during long balls.

In the first leg, Nepal caused many challenges for Vietnam National Team with their solid defensive tactics. In fact, the team ranked 176th in the rankings even managed to score a goal against Vietnam from a well-executed free kick and effective aerial play.