FIFA gives green light to Vietnam and Thailand to change match schedule
FIFA has allowed the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to decide on the rescheduling of the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup. The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) will receive a written response by tomorrow at the latest.
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“FIFA does not object, giving the AFC the right to decide whether to change the match schedule between Thailand and Vietnam in the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup. This is a big step forward, we can almost certainly change the match schedule, avoiding overlapping with the 28th SEA Games,” VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh told VnExpress this morning, April 27.
According to the schedule, the match between Thailand and Vietnam will take place on June 11 at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok. Because U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand are both busy attending the 28th SEA Games at this time, VFF and FAT have negotiated and agreed to change the schedule.
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VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh and Coach Miura both affirmed that they will fight with all their might in both the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup and the 28th SEA Games. Photo: Lam Thoa |
“We initially asked to postpone the match to October 3, when the national championships of both Thailand and Vietnam have ended. However, the regulations do not allow changing the order of matches, which means that the match between Thailand and Vietnam can be changed but must still be the first match of Group F. VFF and FAT have decided to ask to postpone the match to May 24. It is expected that today or tomorrow the AFC will have an official answer about this,” Mr. Le Hoai Anh added.
If the rescheduling is approved, the Thai and Vietnamese teams will have the best squad for the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup (both teams have many players in both the national team and the U23 national team). In addition, Coach Kiatisak and Coach Miura can directly command the troops instead of having to delegate authority to their assistants.
Previously, VFF had also prepared a plan for the two teams if the reschedule was not approved. Specifically, VFF established two different coaching staffs, and assigned head coach of the national women's football team Takashi to temporarily replace coach Miura to lead the Vietnamese team in the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup.
According to VNE
