FIFA sets location for Vietnam team to play Indonesia team; Korean official calls for appointment of coach Park Hang-seo to replace Klinsmann

FIFA confirms location for Vietnam team to compete with Indonesia team

The World Football Federation (FIFA) confirmed that the Vietnam and Indonesia teams will compete at Bung Karno Stadium and My Dinh Stadium in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round taking place next March.

As planned,Vietnam teamwill travel to Indonesia to visit Bung Karno Stadium on March 21. After that, the Vietnam team will return to My Dinh Stadium to welcome the Indonesian team on March 26.

In the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2022, the Vietnam and Indonesia teams played at the same venue. The Vietnam team struggled to draw 0-0 with Indonesia in the first leg of the semi-final at Bung Karno, then won 2-0 in the second leg at My Dinh to reach the final.

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the two matches against Indonesia will be crucial to the Vietnamese team's chances of advancing. Currently, the Vietnamese team is second in Group F with 3 points, 2 points ahead of Indonesia.

However, the Vietnamese team lost 0-1 to the Indonesian team in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup and had to watch their opponents advance. This was also the first time the Vietnamese team lost to the Indonesian team in nearly 8 years.

Korean officials call for appointing coach Park Hang-seo to replace Klinsmann

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo said the Korea Football Association (KFA) should appoint domestic coaches like Park Hang-seo instead of spending lavishly on coach Klinsmann.

The Korean team appointed Klinsmann to replace Paulo Bento in February 2023 with a salary of up to 2.8 billion won (equivalent to 51 billion VND) per year. However, the German coach caused great disappointment when making Korea play unconvincingly and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup against weaker opponents Jordan.

Before the 2023 Asian Cup, Klinsmann was criticized by Korean fans for his unique working style. Although he leads the Korean national team, Klinsmann spent most of his time living and working in Europe. He only returned to Korea when public pressure increased.

After the defeat to Jordan, Klinsmann's future became a hot topic in South Korea. Even high-ranking officials such as Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo criticized the German coach and called on the KFA to put their trust in a local coach.

On his personal page, Hong Jun-pyo said: "Although Korea has world-class players and many talented coaches like Park Hang-seo, I still don't understand why the Korean Football Federation wants to pay huge salaries to foreign coaches."

“Even if Klinsmann is a great player, his coaching ability is another story. His coaching record is not good, so why don’t we change before Korean football is ruined even more.”

“There are many Korean coaches who are better than foreign coaches and they don’t cost 2.8 billion won a year. Besides Park Hang-seo, there are also Hwang Seon-hong and Cho Gwang-rae. It’s time to stop this.”

Nam Dinh Club welcomes foreign player who played in UEFA Europa League

Nam Dinh Green Steel has just reached an agreement to recruit foreign player Lucas Alves de Araujo from Dinamo Bucharest.

Lucas Alves de Araujo has arrived in Nam Dinh to train with his teammates. This player will be registered in the Nam Dinh club squad right after VPF allows V.League teams to replace and edit the list of foreign players. Lucas is expected to make his debut when Nam Dinh club welcomes Hanoi club at Thien Truong stadium on February 28.

He is the next quality rookie of Nam Dinh club in the ambition to conquer the first V.League championship in the history of the team at Thien Truong stadium, after Rafaelson, Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Van Kien, Ly Cong Hoang Anh, Nguyen Van Vi...

Before signing a contract with Nam Dinh club, Lucas was the captain of the club at Arcul de Triumf stadium.

Lucas's career has been associated with many famous clubs such as Corinthians, Flamengo (Brazil). In Europe, he also played in many of the world's leading football countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Romania. The 31-year-old player has appeared many times in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round, the second most prestigious tournament in the UEFA tournament system.

In addition to his usual central defender position, the foreign player of Nam Dinh club can also move up to play as a holding midfielder. At the peak of his career in 2020, Lucas was valued at 1.5 million euros by statistics site Transfermarkt.

Lucas will be a solid support in the back for Nam Dinh club's attacking players to confidently shine. Currently, the team at Thien Truong Stadium is leading the V.League with 19 points after 8 rounds. Coach Vu Hong Viet's team has the most effective attack with 21 goals but has conceded 11 goals. Lucas is expected to help the new team overcome the weakness in defense.

Indonesian team receives 'shocking' news before rematch with Vietnam

Vietnam lost 0-1 to Indonesia in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup finals in Qatar. The two teams will meet twice next March in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

Before this important tournament, coach Shin Tae Yong and the Indonesian team received bad news from key goalkeeper Ernando Ari. This star was injured in the Indonesian national championship Liga 1.

"Ernando Ari landed incorrectly and suffered a shoulder problem. After that, the coaching staff replaced him in the final minutes of the match, Ernando remained near the sideline to cheer for his teammates. Currently, he is undergoing a series of observations and tests to confirm the injury he just suffered," Persebaya Surabaya FC shared on its homepage.

At the press conference after the 1-0 win over Bhayangkara, Persebaya Surabaya FC head coach Paul Munster said: "I cannot say anything about Ernando's injury yet. The doctor is still examining him, the team will come up with the best treatment method so that goalkeeper Ernando can return to training and competition soon."

If the situation does not improve, Ernando may have to sit out for several months and miss two matches against Vietnam in the World Cup qualifiers.

According to the schedule, the Vietnamese team will play the first leg away against Indonesia on March 21, 2024. Five days later (March 26), coach Troussier and his team will welcome the "Island of Ten Thousand Islands" team at home in the second leg at My Dinh./.