Vietnam National Team Open to Attending World Cup; Cong Phuong Receives Support from Incheon United Fans

"After a thorough study of the possibility of increasing the number of teams participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48, the FIFA Council has concluded that this is feasible, provided that neighbouring countries host some matches alongside Qatar," read a statement on the FIFA website, following the FIFA Council meeting in Miami on March 15. "FIFA and Qatar will now further explore this possibility, before presenting it to the FIFA Council. A formal decision will be taken at the FIFA Congress, to be held in Paris on 5 June 2019."

While waiting for an official decision, host country Qatar continues to prepare to host the 2022 World Cup with 32 teams, as originally planned.

"There are just a few conditions left to pass. We need our neighbours to support Qatar, to increase the number of participating teams. It would be great if this happens," FIFA President Gianni Infantino shared on the sidelines of the meeting in Miami.

The two leading candidates to co-host the 2022 World Cup with Qatar are Kuwait and Oman. These are two Gulf countries that were not among the countries that severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in 2017, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE.

Many countries, including Vietnam, will benefit from the decision to increase the number of teams participating in the 2022 World Cup to 48. With Qatar as the host, Asia is likely to have 8.5 places in the final round. Coach Park Hang-seo and his team were in the top 8 in Asia when they reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup earlier this year.

Incheon United fans put pressure on coach Jorn Andersen because of Cong Phuong

At 12 noon today, March 16 (Vietnam time), Incheon United Club will visit Sangju Sangmu in round 3 of K.League 1. Incheon United fans are hoping that striker Cong Phuong will have a brilliant debut in this match.

On the All About IUFC fanpage, many graphics about the match between Sangju Sangmu and Incheon United appeared, with the title: "Third round match: Cong Phuong, you can do it!".

The graphic states: “The next match against Sangju is an opportunity for Incheon United to use Cong Phuong more. Sangju is an opponent with high form but is not unbeatable.

Mbappe rebels amid rumors of moving to Real

Amid rumours of being linked with Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe has shown a lack of respect for the club's discipline. According to French media, Mbappe arrived very late to the club's training session without a valid reason. PSG fined Mbappe £150,000. This amount was added to the club's charity fund.

Currently, the top young talent of France is the number one target on Real Madrid's transfer list in the summer of 2019 after the Spanish Royal team reappointed coach Zinedine Zidane. In an interview with the press, Zidane publicly expressed his desire to work with Mbappe: "I would be happy to coach Mbappe as well as other high-class players."

Ronaldo returns to national team

For the first time since the end of the 2018 World Cup campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the Portuguese national team. The Juventus star is on coach Fernando Santos's list for the EURO 2020 qualifying matches against Ukraine (March 22) and Serbia (March 25). Ronaldo's return to the national team is very welcome by fans. Ronaldo is currently leading the list of goalscorers in the history of the Portuguese national team with 85 goals in 154 matches.

Cannavaro becomes head coach of China national team

The Chinese Football Association has just decided to appoint Fabio Cannavaro as the head coach of the national team. Because he is leading Guangzhou Evergrande Club in the Chinese national championship, Cannavaro will initially lead both teams at the same time.

Marcelo Lippi, who resigned after failing to guide China to a deep qualification stage at the 2019 Asian Cup, will act as an advisor to Cannavaro. Cannavaro's first test in his new role will be the China Cup match against Thailand on March 21.