Vietnam National Team will have unique tricks for Thai people; some changes in football rules

There will be some changes in football rules from next season.

The changes just approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) have been officially applied since the 2019 Champions League final. In fact, some changes are just to make the regulations more specific and clear.

Specifically, the goalkeeper must have one foot on the goal line when taking a penalty. Previously, the goalkeeper had to “stand on the line”. Now, only a small part of the foot is needed to still bite the line. This allows the goalkeeper to move faster. One foot “on the line” means in the air, which is still better.

Players of the penalty kicking team are no longer allowed to stand in the "wall" of the defending team.

Players of the kicking team are no longer allowed to stand in the “wall” of the defending team. This will be applied when there are 3 or more players forming the wall. Players of the attacking team must stand at least 1 meter away from the wall. If violated, the indirect free kick will be re-punished.

In the past, when the referee dropped the ball, players from both sides were free to contest. Now, the referee only drops the ball to the player of the last team to touch the ball before the game was stopped. Other players must stand at least 4m away. In particular, when the ball is dropped in the penalty area, the referee only drops the ball to the goalkeeper - even if the attacking team was the last to touch the ball before the game was stopped. The referee will also drop the ball if the ball bounces off the referee, resulting in it falling to the team that did not previously own the ball, or if the ball bounces off the referee and goes into the net.

One of the most common controversies in soccer is the situation where a player passively touches the ball with his hands. Now it is clearer: regardless of the cause, “handball” is a foul, and the opposing team is awarded a free kick in the following cases:

- The ball touched the player's hand before entering the goal.

- The ball touches a player's hand before he scores or assists in a goal.

- The hands make the player's body appear abnormally large, or the hands are higher than the shoulders.

In other cases, a player who accidentally touches the ball with his hand will not be penalized.

Previously, the rule prohibited goalkeepers from using their hands to catch the ball when a teammate passed it back with his feet or threw it back. Now, a goalkeeper can use his hands to catch the ball if he has previously kicked it up with his feet, but the attempt failed.

Important change for teams that like to “play from the back”: players are allowed to enter the penalty area to receive a 5m50 goal kick from the goalkeeper (or a free kick), but opponents must remain outside the 16m50 area until after the goalkeeper has taken the goal kick, or the free kick has been taken.

From now on, players who take off their shirts to celebrate will still receive a yellow card even if the goal is disallowed. Coaches can be given yellow and red cards just like players. The game can be stopped to let players “cool off”, depending on the specific situation. The winning team of the coin toss will choose both the goal and the kick-off.

Today, U23 Vietnam played a friendly match with Viettel.

After 3 days of gathering in Hanoi, yesterday U23 Vietnam had all 29 players. Players who had just finished playing in the First Division such as Danh Trung, Tuan Hai, Duc Nam were present to practice with their teammates.

U23 Vietnam will have the first test against Viettel Club.

While center back Van Hanh had to sit out due to injury, coach Kim Han Yoon decided to call Duc Nam to replace Xuan Tu, who had started practicing the training plan given by the Korean coach. After having enough players, today, U23 Vietnam will have the first test against Viettel Club. This is considered a test for U23 Vietnam to choose a good framework as well as from there screen personnel to finalize 23 players to participate in the friendly match with U23 Myanmar on June 7.

Regarding this match, yesterday the match organizers sold tickets directly at Viet Tri Stadium. This was the first time watching a team compete, so the fans here were quite excited. Although it was quite sunny, there were many spectators lining up to buy tickets. On this occasion, the match organizers sold tickets at different prices, 100,000 - 150,000 and 200,000 VND/ticket. With this ticket price, the audience was quite excited and a whole line of people patiently lined up in the hope of owning a ticket to watch the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Myanmar. Surely in the coming days, when U23 Vietnam moves from Hanoi to Phu Tho, the heat of the match will be pushed up.

Vietnam National Team: Unique tricks & "X-Factor" for Thais

Coach Park Hang-seo is a versatile player in his use of tactics and personnel. It is very likely that the Korean coach will have some “unique moves” for his opponents at the upcoming King’s Cup.

Use poison to fight poison

The Vietnam national football team once surprised Jordan with their "fighting poison with poison" approach.

Coach Park Hang-seo is a person who prefers to use defensive counter-attack tactics. In which, the 3-5-2 formation (or variations) is often used in recent tournaments. Dang Van Lam will be a safe choice in goal even though Nguyen Manh is in very good form.

Dinh Trong's absence has damaged the defense, but Mr. Park still has three central defenders: Tien Dung, Ngoc Hai and Duy Manh. On both wings, Doan Van Hau is the number 1 choice on the left wing. Hong Duy is an excellent backup. On the right wing, Mr. Park is having a "pleasant headache" when Trong Hoang and Van Thanh are both good attackers and good defenders.

Quang Hai will be the star that receives special attention from opponents.

On the attacking front, Quang Hai and Van Toan seem to have secured their places after their top performances in the V.League. Up front, Anh Duc is the top choice for the striker position. Behind him could be Cong Phuong, who is eager to show his performance after a disappointing half-season at Incheon United.

X-Factor is real

Maybe Mr. Pack will pull Trong Hoang to play as a central midfielder because this midfielder has very special abilities. Simply put, Trong Hoang can play the role of an “X-Factor” (mysterious factor) of the Vietnam National Team.

Trong Hoang is the "mysterious factor" of the Vietnam National Team.

In short, coach Park Hang-seo has many choices in terms of personnel and they are all players who can make a difference.

Coach Guardiola warns about Man City's extremely fierce new season

Despite having just had a successful season with Man City when winning the "treble" in the domestic tournament, coach Pep Guardiola is still quite cautious when talking about the upcoming journey of The Citizens.

Last season, Man City and Liverpool created a two-horse race for the Premier League championship that was considered the most exciting in history.

Last season, Man City and Liverpool created a two-horse race for the Premier League championship that was considered the most exciting in history. While Man City earned 98 points to successfully defend the championship, Liverpool finished second with only 1 point less.

With coach Juergen Klopp's team having just defeated Tottenham 2-0 to win the 2018/19 Champions League, next season they promise to be another formidable challenge for Man City. However, according to coach Guardiola, Liverpool is not the only opponent that Man City must respect.

Van Dijk leaves Ronaldo far behind in chances of winning the Ballon d'Or

Bookmaker William Hill rates Virgil Van Dijk as the number 2 candidate, with a much higher rate than the number 4 candidate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Van Dijk is considered a rock in the defense, making an important contribution to helping Liverpool win the championship. Photo: Reuters

William Hill offers Van Dijk 5/4 odds to win the Ballon d'Or, just behind the front-runner Lionel Messi (4/5), and ahead of Mohamed Salah (16/1), Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe (both 20/1).

Van Dijk's chances of winning the Ballon d'Or have been boosted by his recent Champions League triumph with Liverpool. On the way to glory, Van Dijk has contributed greatly to the Reds' progress, going 64 games without being outplayed by an opponent.

After the Champions League final, Van Dijk also won the Man of the Match award. He is the third defender to win this award after Paolo Maldini in 2003 and Sergio Ramos in 2016.

The last defender to win the Ballon d'Or was Fabio Cannavaro, the 2006 World Cup winner. If he wins, Van Dijk will be the first Dutch player to win the Ballon d'Or in 27 years, since Marco van Basten in 1992.

Despite being eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals, Messi is still considered the number one candidate. According to experts, in addition to the La Liga championship, Messi is also highly regarded thanks to the 3 titles of La Liga Top Scorer, European Golden Shoe and Champions League.

With 51 goals, the Barca captain is the player who scored the most goals in all competitions in the 2018-2019 season. He also set up 13 times for his teammates in La Liga and 3 times in the Champions League.