FIFA especially praises Cong Phuong; Van Lam integrates very quickly at Muangthong

U22 Vietnam ranked above Thailand after the opening day of the Southeast Asian tournament

Winning 2-1 against the Philippines, U22 Vietnam temporarily topped Group A of the U22 Southeast Asian tournament after the opening day, when ranked above the biggest rival Thailand.

Facing an opponent that was rated much lower, U22 Vietnam was led by U22 Philippines in the beginning of the second half after Borlongan's free kick. Coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan's team wasted too many opportunities and played with heavy pressure.

However, two goals from substitutes Danh Trung and Minh Binh helped U22 Vietnam come from behind to win 2-1, bringing home the first 3 points in the U22 Southeast Asian tournament.

In the remaining match last night, U22 Thailand was even considered to be much better than their opponent, Timor Leste, who has often been considered a weak team in many age-group tournaments in the region in recent years.

However, U22 Thailand only had a minimal 1-0 victory thanks to a goal by captain Saringkan Promsupa in the 47th minute. This victory was enough to bring 3 points to U22 Thailand, but did not clearly show the strength of Thai football.

With this result, U22 Vietnam temporarily leads Group A after the first round of matches thanks to a better goal difference than Thailand, even though they have the same 3 points. The two teams have the same goal difference of +1, but U22 Vietnam has 1 more goal.

FIFA gives special praise to Cong Phuong

After joining Incheon United and having an impressive performance at the 2019 Asian Cup, striker Cong Phuong received special praise from the homepage of the World Football Federation (FIFA).

This event has received special attention from the World Football Federation. Recently, on its homepage, FIFA praised the new recruit of Incheon United Club.

In the introduction of Nguyen Cong Phuong, FIFA had some compliments for the 24-year-old player: “He is a striker who creates a constant danger for the Golden Dragons. He emerged from the U23 team.

Cong Phuong scored against Iraq and then Jordan to help Vietnam win its first ever Asian Cup knockout round.”

Recent successes have helped Vietnamese football receive special attention from FIFA. Previously, in the summary of the 2019 Asian Cup, FIFA highly appreciated the progress and breakthrough of Vietnamese football after the extremely impressive images at the U23 Asia.

Goalkeeper Van Lam integrates very quickly at Muangthong

Vietnam national team's number 1 goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, after two weeks of training at his new team Muangthong United, is ready for his debut this weekend when the 2019 Thai League kicks off.

Talking about the past two weeks of training at Muangthong United, Van Lam shared: “Everything here has surprised me. The new season in Thai League will start this weekend, so my teammates and I are working hard in training, trying to achieve the best physical condition and form, thereby having perfect preparation for the first match of the season.

Personally, I am a new member of the team so I am still trying to do the best for myself and the team. I will definitely face some difficulties, my new teammates at Muangthong United Club do not all speak English but I think that is just a small difficulty on the sidelines. On the field, we can still understand each other through body language, hand signals. Therefore, I think there will be no big problem when we play together on the field.

I have no problem with the food here. The food in Thailand is quite similar to that in Vietnam. The food in Thailand is quite spicy but I still like it, so I have no problem with the food. I have not had any difficulty integrating at Muangthong United.

Xuan Truong calls on Vietnamese fans to cheer for Buriram Utd

Buriram Utd's new recruit has called on Vietnamese fans to come to Thailand to cheer for his team in the upcoming opening match of the 2019 Thai League.

In an interview posted on Buriram Utd's social networking site, midfielder Luong Xuan Truong expressed that Vietnamese football fans will watch him play in the Thai League.

“Next season, I will play for Buriram Utd. I hope everyone will follow my steps as well as the club. On February 23, Buriram Utd will have their debut match at home. I hope everyone, especially Vietnamese fans, will come to the stadium to cheer and hopefully, I will see everyone at that match,” said the midfielder who is still under the management of HAGL.

It can be seen that since Xuan Truong joined Buriram Utd, the number of Vietnamese viewers following the team's website has increased significantly, mainly from Vietnam. The comments on Buriram Utd's website are also mostly from Vietnam. Perhaps that is why some Thai fans commented sarcastically, "Is this a Vietnamese page?".