Hanoi FC enters the quarter-finals of the 2022 National Cup; Coach Park faces another 'nightmare' at SEA Games 31?

Hoang Duc aims to win the SEA Games Gold Medal with U23 Vietnam

Midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc aims to win another Gold Medal.U23 Vietnamat the SEA Games. He was also just given the captain's armband for Viettel Club in the 5-0 victory over Can Tho in the 1/8 round of the National Cup on the evening of April 11. This creates leverage for Hoang Duc to be more confident when joining the U23 Vietnam team on April 14. He is one of three players over 23 years old chosen by Coach Park Hang-seo, along with Do Hung Dung and Nguyen Tien Linh.

Nguyen Hoang Duc.

Hoang Duc shared about being called up to the SEA Games as an overage player: “In the next 2 days, I will join the national team. I will try to improve my fitness and strength to prepare for the 2021 SEA Games.”

Hoang Duc also shared his personal thoughts and feelings when he knew he had a special opportunity to defend his gold medal: “The SEA Games being held at home is both a motivation and a pressure for the players. When I get to play at home and receive the support of the fans, I try to achieve the gold medal. I think Thailand and other teams are very strong in this year's tournament. They will definitely bring many good players to Vietnam. Hopefully, the 31st SEA Games will have good matches.”

Lukaku injured, won't play Real vs Chelsea

Coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed that Chelsea will not have Romelu Lukaku for the clash with Real Madrid in the 2021/22 Champions League on April 13.

In the first leg of the 2021/22 Champions League quarter-finals, Chelsea unexpectedly lost 1-3 to Real Madrid. Chelsea's task in the upcoming rematch with Real is extremely heavy if they still want to defend the championship title they hold. Now, coach Thomas Tuchel will have a headache without the service of striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian striker has not been in good form recently, but Lukaku's presence still gives coach Tuchel many options to approach the opponent's goal. According to the British press, Lukaku has problems with his Achilles heel.

Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku has struggled to find his best form since returning to Chelsea for £95m from Inter in the summer of 2021. He has scored just five goals in the 2021/22 Premier League and his most recent goal was against Brighton in December 2021.

In the absence of Lukaku, coach Tuchel will put his faith in Kai Havertz, who has scored in the last two matches for The Blues. The player born in 1999 was also the only player to score for Chelsea in the first leg.

In addition to Lukaku, Tuchel will welcome back captain Cesar Azpilicueta after he tested negative for Covid-19: "The situation is that Callum Hudson-Odoi is currently injured and Ben Chilwell is of course still out.

Lukaku will not be travelling with us to Spain because of his Achilles. Azpilicueta is in the Chelsea squad. He has tested negative several times and Ross Barkley is ill so will stay in London. All the other players are ready."

Dramatic comeback win, Hanoi FC enters the quarterfinals of the 2022 National Cup

Scoring two goals in the last 4 minutes of the match on the evening of April 11, Hanoi FC defeated host SHB Da Nang with a score of 2-1, winning a ticket to the quarter-finals of the 2022 National Cup.

Marching to Hoa Xuan Stadium to face host SHB Da Nang in the 1/8 round of the 2022 National Cup,Hanoi FCfielded the strongest starting lineup, including star Nguyen Quang Hai, but still let the Han River team take the lead first.

This is Quang Hai's last match in the Capital team's jersey, but the midfielder born in 1997 played quite poorly in the 60 minutes he was on the field.

Meanwhile, coach Phan Thanh Hung's team only had one chance to shoot but successfully took advantage of it to score. Originating from a bad judgment by goalkeeper Tan Truong in the 49th minute, Pham Dinh Duy helped SHB Da Nang take the lead against their opponents.

SHB Da Nang (right) opened the score but could not win the match.

Losing the advantage, Hanoi FC pushed up their formation to attack in search of an equalizer but to no avail. The capital team almost conceded another goal if Tan Truong had not miraculously saved the opponent's penalty kick in the final minutes.

In the 88th minute, when Han River football fans were sure that their team would win the final match, Truong Van Thai Quy and foreign player Vladimir Siladji scored, helping coach Chun Jaeho's team come back to win spectacularly and enter the quarter-finals of the 2022 National Cup.

In the match taking place at the same time, host Binh Phuoc defeated Quang Nam with a score of 3-0 and won a ticket to the quarter-finals of the 2022 National Cup.

Coach Park faces another "nightmare" at SEA Games 31?

Coach Mano Polking will be the one to lead Thailand U23 to replace strategist Worrawoot Srimaka at SEA Games 31.

On the morning of April 11, the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) held an urgent meeting to announce a number of decisions related to Thai football in the near future. Accordingly, the head coach of the Thai national team, Mano Polking, will be the one to lead the Thai U23 team at the 31st SEA Games, replacing Mr. Worrawoot Srimaka. After the 2022 Southeast Asian Games ends, Mr. Polking will return as the coach of the Thai national team, while Mr. Worrawoot Srimaka will continue to lead the U23 team.

The head of the Thai football delegation, Ms. Nualphan Lamsam, said: “The U23 Thailand team will aim to win the gold medal at the 31st SEA Games. Therefore, with the consent of the Football Association of Thailand, we decided to appoint coach Mano Polking to lead the team to achieve this goal.”

Coach Polking will lead Thailand U23 to attend SEA Games 31.

Sending coach Polking to lead the U23 team is considered reasonable because Mr. Worrawoot Srimaka has not shown much recently.

In the 2022 AFC U23 qualifiers, the "war elephants" had to work very hard to get a ticket to continue. Most recently, at the 2022 Dubai Cup, under the leadership of coach Srimaka, U23 Thailand lost all 3 matches and ranked 10/10. In addition, the plans that coach Worrawoot Srimaka prepared for the 31st SEA Games were also considered not good.

In a meeting on April 11, billionaire Nualphan Lamsam confirmed that Thailand will use the U23 team to play in the 31st SEA Games instead of the U19 players as many had previously speculated. With this decision from Thailand, if they go far in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, it is very likely thatCoach Park Hang-seowill meet his "nightmare" Polking again.

Previously, in the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2022, the Korean strategist and the Vietnamese team suffered a 0-2 defeat against coach Polking's team.

Related information, according to the results of the draw for men's football at the 31st SEA Games, U23 Thailand is in Group B with Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore. Meanwhile, host Vietnam is in Group A with Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and East Timor.

Coach Polking will lead Thailand U23 to attend SEA Games 31.