Portugal and Italy must eliminate each other to compete for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup; Hung Dung can attend the AFF Cup
(Baonghean) - Portugal and Italy cannot participate in the 2022 World Cup together because they are in the same group in the European play-off round; Hanoi Club will let midfielder Do Hung Dung join the Vietnam national team if he is called up in the near future.
Portugal and Italy must eliminate each other to compete for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup
At the European play-off draw on the evening of November 26, the draw from former midfielder Tiago Mendes gavePortugalandItalyare in the same bracket number three in the play-off round. Thus, at least one of these two teams cannot participate.World Cup 2022in Qatar.
Portugal and Italy are in the same bracket as the thirdTurkeyand North Macedonia, only one team will qualify for the 2022 World Cup. In the first round, Portugal will play Turkey, while Italy will host North Macedonia on March 24, 2022. The winner of these two matches will fight for a place in the World Cup five days later, while the loser will be eliminated. In the event that Portugal and Italy both win, they will have to eliminate each other in a life-and-death match for a place in the World Cup.Cristiano Ronaldoand the team will have the home advantage against Italy in that case.
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| The results of the three play-off rounds will select one team from each group to participate in the 2022 World Cup. |
The first branch includesScotland,Ukraine,WalesandShirt. Scotland will host Ukraine, while Austria will travel to Wales. The winner of the Wales-Austria tie will have home advantage in the decisive match against either Ukraine or Scotland. Ukraine have been eliminated in all four previous play-offs.
In the second branch,RussianextPoland, stillSwedenmeet the away teamCzech. The winner of the Poland-Russia match will play at home against either Sweden or the Czech Republic. In this bracket, the top two strikersRobert LewandowskiandZlatan Ibrahimoviccould also face off, if Poland and Sweden both win in the first round.
Portugal have qualified for the World Cup seven times, including the last five. Italy have only failed to qualify twice, in 1958 and 2018. Coincidentally, Portugal and Italy have also won the last two Euros. But they had to play a play-off to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after finishing second in their first qualifying group.
Hung Dung may be called up to the Vietnam national team for the AFF Cup
Hanoi FC has released a new announcement on Do Hung Dung's health. After a month of treatment and training with the club's medical team, the player's physical condition is now good enough to continue with heavy training. The team's leadership said Dung could be called up to the national team if he receives a call-up request from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Park Hang-seo.
In early November, VFF sent a document calling Do Hung Dung to the Vietnam national team to prepare for the AFF Cup 2020. However, at that time, Hanoi FC refused. Experts treating Hung Dung recommended that the player should continue to stay at the club and complete the rehabilitation training program of PVF Center and expert Kim Kwang-jae.
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| Hanoi FC said Hung Dung is ready to serve the Vietnam team. Photo: Minh Chien. |
Respecting this recommendation, VFF and the coaching staff of the Vietnamese national team let Hung Dung stay to have more time to recover. At the consultation on November 25 between the medical department of Hanoi Club and specialists, expert Kim Kwang-jae said that Hung Dung could respond to heavy exercises.
“Hung Dung has returned to training with the club and can join the national team in the near future. However, he needs to pay attention to gradually increasing the volume of exercise with the injured leg and continue following the training plan I have prepared,” said the head of the medical department of Hanoi Club.Van Duc and Tien Dung scored in the internal match of the Vietnam team.
In the internal practice match that took place on the evening of November 26, Phan Van Duc and Bui Tien Dung scored to help the main squad of the Vietnamese team win 2-0.
Coach Park divided the Vietnamese team into two teams. The young players faced off against the main players. The first half was quite open with many combinations and shots. However, the players did not take advantage of their opportunities well, so no goals were scored.
In the second half, Coach Park made many changes. Nguyen Van Van Toan, Pham Duc Huy, Phan Van Duc, Bui Tan Truong, Bui Tien Dung, Luong Xuan Truong were sent onto the field to compete with a few young players. On the other side of the front line, Tran Minh Vuong led his juniors.
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| The goal in the practice match will help Van Duc relieve some of the pressure he has been under recently. Photo: Quang Thinh. |
At this time, the gap in experience and skill was shown through the two goals of Bui Tien Dung and Phan Van Duc. From a corner kick, with the ability to judge, choose the landing point and handle the ball neatly, center back Tien Dung had a chest control and then kicked the ball into the opponent's net. Meanwhile, the second goal came from an extremely methodical central coordination situation, Phan Van Duc chose the position, accelerated, handled the technique to neatly put the ball into the far corner of the goal.
This is the only internal practice match of the Vietnamese team before competing in the AFF Cup 2020. On November 27, the whole team will have a break. On December 1, Coach Park and his team will move to Singapore to begin the journey to defend the Southeast Asian throne. On December 6, the Vietnamese team will have their opening match against Laos.
