BANGKOK -- Despite their status as the ASEAN Championship's record seven-time winners, Thailand coach Anthony Hudson believes the honest truth is that Vietnam are the favourites to prevail in the final -- which begins with Saturday's first leg at Rajamangala Stadium.
That does not mean he doesn't think his side do not stand a chance.
He was merely trying to paint an accurate picture of the challenges facing his team, which was triggered a journalist asking in Friday's prematch news conference what he thought about Vietnam counterpart Kim Sang-Sik saying that Rafaelson would score a hat-trick against Thailand -- although there might have been some misinterpretation as the South Korean appeared to have said he "hoped" his star striker would do just that as it would be a huge boost to their chances.
"Most of what I say in the press gets attacked or twisted so many times it's quite interesting really," Hudson said.
"This is the part where everyone will smash [me] -- Vietnam are expected to win this game.
"I think we know coming into the tournament Vietnam have their full-strength team. They've been in camp for a couple of months, had a preparation camp in South Korea, played three friendlies -- so I think we can all say that Vietnam, on paper right now, are the favourites.
"I think the pressure is clearly on Vietnam to win the game. I think we can say that honestly. It's not mind games or me trying to put pressure -- it's just the truth.
"In the beginning of the tournament, everyone wrote us off. The messages I got, everything I read -- 'the group is not good', 'why is he picking this squad', 'this team is not going to get out of the group' -- that's all we heard in the beginning.
"For me, the team have done an incredible job to get to this point. When you get to a final, anything can happen.
"One thing for sure is the players have shown me in this tournament that they've been able to overcome some difficult moments. We've been able to grow as a team.
"The togetherness is very strong and we also have qualities in our team that we know can go out there and get a win for Vietnam. We believe that.
"We're excited for this challenge. Tomorrow will be our biggest game of the tournament. It has to be."
While it is most likely that Kim did not outrightly declare that Rafaelson will score a hat-trick, the fact of the matter remains that the Brazilian-born marksman will be a massive threat.
The 29-year-old gained Vietnamese citizenship on the eve of the last ASEAN Championship in 2024 and went on to claim both the Most Valuable Player and Top Scorer awards on the back of a seven-goal campaign.
While he has not needed to be as prominent this year, he is still the man for the big occasion as he came off the bench to score both of Vietnam's goals in Wednesday's 2-0 semifinal second leg win over Malaysia - a brace that has now taken to joint-top of the scoring charts, alongside teammate Nguyễn Đình Bắc, even though he has had to settle for two appearances as a substitute.
Nonetheless, Hudson will refrain from putting too much emphasis on one man -- aware that Vietnam have plenty of other threats, but also wanting his team to play to their own strengths.
"If you look at their whole squad, I think they've got quality -- individual quality -- and are a very, very well-organised team that are well coached," Hudson added. "They're a very, very strong team.
"With our preparation, we have to respect that -- and that will reflect in how we approach part of the game -- but, on the other side of it, we also have to know -- and give confidence and belief to our players -- that we have a lot of different qualities and individual qualities, and as a team.
"We just have to make sure tomorrow is our biggest performance of the tournament. That's what we're focused on. I have belief in the group and that's all we're going to be thinking about going into the game."