Vietnam team moves up FIFA rankings; Chelsea announces new player worth 38 million euros

Chelsea lost their fourth consecutive match to Man City

Early morning of January 6 (Hanoi time), Chelsea with a depleted squad suffered a 0-1 defeat at home to the defending champions in round 19 of the English Premier League.

Just before hosting Man City, Chelsea suffered a loss when Mason Mount was injured. After only 22 minutes of play, "The Blues" suffered two more losses when Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic had to leave the field.

On the other side of the front line, Man City played somewhat sluggishly due to the tight schedule. The away team had to wait until the 38th minute to launch a clear attack. Erling Haaland received the ball in the penalty area but shot over the bar. A few minutes later, it was Kevin De Bruyne's turn to shoot from afar. The ball went right to the position that goalkeeper Kepa had chosen.

Chelsea have lost to Man City in all four of their last meetings, three of which were in the Premier League, all by a score of 0-1.

At the beginning of the second half, Pep Guardiola asked his players to accelerate to exploit the space between Chelsea's full-back and centre-back. After Nathan Ake's header hit the crossbar in the 51st minute, the defending champions took the lead.

Jack Grealish came on in the 60th minute and needed just three minutes to make his mark. The Englishman received the ball from De Bruyne, before passing it just wide for Riyad Mahrez to tap it into the home net from close range.

The home team's most significant chance in the second half belonged to a central defender. In the 56th minute, Man City's defense opened up a gap but Thiago Silva's shot went wide.

The match at Stamford Bridge ended with a 1-0 victory for Man City. Chelsea lost their 4th match in the last 6 rounds and remained in 10th place with 25 points. Meanwhile, the "Cityzens" narrowed the gap with the leading team Arsenal to 5 points.

This weekend (January 8), Chelsea will face Man City again. The match in the third round of the FA Cup will take place at the Etihad Stadium.

Vietnam team moves up on FIFA rankings

Vietnam National Team's ranking on FIFA rankings changed after the group stage of AFF Cup 2022.

The Vietnamese team has a record of 3 wins and 1 draw after the group stage of the AFF Cup 2022. Thanks to that, the team of coach Park Hang-seo was awarded 3.35 points on the FIFA Rankings according to calculations from the Football Ranking page. That score also helped the Vietnamese team improve its ranking by moving up 1 place to 95th on the FIFA Rankings with 1231.98 points, pushing Armenia down to 95th place.

Among the teams entering the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2022, Malaysia is the team with the strongest improvement in the FIFA Rankings according to Football Ranking's calculations. They were awarded 4.42 points and moved up 2 places, while Indonesia and Thailand, although also awarded points, remained unchanged in their rankings.

Vietnam national football team has improved on FIFA rankings according to Football Ranking.

The number of points that teams are awarded after each victory in the AFF Cup 2022 is very small. However, if the Vietnamese team defeats Indonesia to reach the final, the "Golden Star Warriors" can still rise to take the 93rd position of Palestine when Coach Park's army is only 1.74 points behind this team.

Even if they win the 2022 AFF Cup, the Vietnamese team cannot advance past 93rd place. The reason is that the "Golden Star Warriors" are 13.37 points behind the 92nd ranked team, Luxembourg.

Historically,Vietnam teamThe highest ranking on the FIFA Rankings was in September 1998. At that time, the Vietnam National Team was ranked 84th. Under Coach Park, the highest ranking of the Vietnam National Team was 92.

Chelsea announce new player worth 38 million euros

On the evening of January 5 (Hanoi time), the Stamford Bridge team confirmed the successful recruitment of Benoit Badiashile from AS Monaco.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, "The Blues" spent 38 million euros on this deal. The contract signed is valid until June 2029, lasting for 7 and a half years.

Badiashile is Chelsea's second new signing in the January 2023 transfer window. Previously, they successfully recruited striker Datro Fofana from Molde FC for 12 million euros.

Chelsea website announcement on Benoit Badiashile deal.

"I am delighted to be joining Chelsea. I am excited to start playing for this team. I can't wait to meet the fans and play in the best league in the world," Badiashile said at the signing ceremony.

Stamford Bridge's home team has been eyeing Badiashile since the summer transfer window of 2022. Athletic revealed that Chelsea is targeting Josko Gvardiol. "The Blue" reached a personal agreement with the Croatian midfielder. However, RB Leipzig's asking price was too high, so Chelsea gave up on Gvardiol to focus on Badiashile.

Meanwhile, Badiashile, 1.8m tall, has a brave playing style. The French midfielder's ability to intercept and intercept the ball is highly appreciated in Ligue 1. Over the past 4 seasons, Badiashile has played 135 matches for Monaco. This midfielder was also called up to the French national team this year. Compared to his age of 21, Badiashile's experience is impressive.

Coach Kiatisuk: I want Thailand to meet Vietnam in the AFF Cup final

Coach Kiatisuk Senamuang of Hoang Anh Gia Lai expects the 2022 AFF Cup final to be a decisive match between Thailand and Vietnam.

"In the final, I want Thailand to meet Vietnam, a team that is always considered our rival. This will be a much more interesting confrontation than the semi-finals. Choosing the champion of this year's tournament is not easy when the opponents are not weak. Even Indonesia is a strong team," coach Kiatisuk shared on SMM Sport on the afternoon of January 5 (Hanoi time).

The last time Vietnam and Thailand met in the AFF Cup final was in 2008. At that time, coach Henrique Calisto helped Vietnam win 3-2 and win the championship at My Dinh Stadium. In the recent meeting in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2020, Vietnam lost to Thailand with a total score of 0-2.

Vietnam could face Thailand if it reaches the final of the AFF Cup 2022. Photo: Bao Ngoc

Commenting on Malaysia's semi-final opponents, coach Kiatisuk said: "Playing away at Bukit Jalil Stadium is not easy. Tens of thousands of fans will cheer throughout the match, the players will not hear instructions or encouragement from the coaching staff. But if they take advantage of their own experience and play according to the proposed tactics, it is not a big problem."

"I believe coach Mano Polking has the tactics to deal with it. Personally, I think the Thai players are experienced enough to overcome the pressure," said the 49-year-old strategist.

Coach Park Hang-seo was surprised when the match was moved up 3 hours earlier.

At the press conference before the match between Indonesia and Vietnam, coach Park Hang-seo expressed confidence in his players’ preparation and ability even when playing away. He also expressed surprise when the match was moved up to 4:30 p.m.

Coach Park Hang-seo said: "We have prepared carefully both mentally and physically. We will try our best in tomorrow's match." When asked about Indonesia's choice of a 4:30 p.m. match to serve security and safety purposes, coach Park Hang-seo said that this was quite difficult to understand, because Indonesia is the host country of the 2023 U20 World Cup finals, so it is fully capable of ensuring the organization of the match between Indonesia and Vietnam.

Coach Park Hang-seo appeared relaxed before the first leg of the semi-final.

Attending the press conference with coach Park Hang Seo, striker Pham Tuan Hai also confirmed the team's preparations for the first leg of the semi-final against Indonesia. "In tomorrow's match, the coaching staff has prepared very carefully for tactics and physical strength. Tomorrow, when we take to the field, the whole team will do their best to have a good match," Tuan Hai said.

On the afternoon of January 5, the Vietnamese team will have an official training session to familiarize themselves with the Gelora Bung Karno stadium. This is a stadium with a capacity of nearly 80,000 seats, but the Organizing Committee can only issue about 50,000 tickets for security reasons. According to the regulations, 8% of the total tickets sold will be for away team fans. Thus, a maximum of about 4,000 Vietnamese fans will be allowed to enter the stadium to cheer on the team.Coach Park Hang-seoin the upcoming match.

Vietnam team will face Indonesia team at 4:30 p.m. on January 6./.