East Timor coach admires U23 Vietnam; Barca enters Europa League round of 16

East Timor coach greatly admires U23 Vietnam

U23 East Timor coach Fabio Maciel da Silva expressed his admiration for the resilient fighting spirit of U23 Vietnam.

On the evening of February 24, U23 Vietnam excellently defeated U23 East Timor 5-3 on penalties in the semi-finals of the 2022 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, thereby winning a ticket to the final match.

After the match, coach Fabio Maciel da Silva expressed his admiration for the players' fighting spirit.U23 Vietnam.

“We expected to face one of the strongest teams in the tournament, but even though they were not in their best shape, U23 East Timor still struggled to take the match into extra time and penalties,” said Silva.

Congratulations to U23 Vietnam. They showed bravery despite being short-handed. This was truly an emotional match.”

Coach da Silva expressed his admiration for U23 Vietnam.

The head coach of U23 East Timor said that he and his players had prepared very carefully for the match and had prepared for every possible situation, but were unsuccessful.

“We had planned everything before the match. We had anticipated this situation, but unfortunately it was not successful.

Anyway, I still send my compliments to the players, they played their best and can hold their heads high against Vietnam," Coach Silva shared.

Meanwhile, coach Dinh The Nam also expressed his joy when his students excellently won tickets to the final match.

Mr. Nam said: “I am really happy after reaching the final. I instructed the players that even if they are short of players, they must play offensively. If the team does not attack, there cannot be goals and victory.”

According to the schedule, the final match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand will take place on February 26.

U23 Vietnam received a big reward after winning against Timor Leste

The Vietnam Football Federation and the Vietnam Young Talent Support Fund awarded coach Dinh The Nam and his team VND900 million after defeating Timor Leste to reach the final of the 2022 Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

U23 Vietnam entered the final of U23 Southeast Asia 2022 for the first time. Photo: Nguyen Khang.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) awarded 600 million VND and the Vietnam Young Talent Support Fund awarded 300 million VND to U23 Vietnam after the victory over Timor Leste in the semi-finals of the 2022 Southeast Asian U23 Championship on the evening of February 24. Despite the loss of personnel, the team still showed great fighting spirit and courage after 120 minutes of a 0-0 draw and a 5-3 victory in a tense penalty shootout.

The total bonus amount of U23 Vietnam up to now is 1.5 billion VND. Previously, U23 Vietnam was awarded 600 million VND from VFF after winning U23 Thailand 1-0 and U23 Singapore 7-0 in the group stage.

Barca into Europa League last 16 after 4-2 win

In the early morning of February 25 (Hanoi time), coach Xavi and his team played brilliantly at Napoli's home field to win the right to enter the Europa League round of 16 with a score of 4-2.

Barca entered the Europa League round of 16 after a convincing win over Napoli. Photo: Reuters

New signings Adama Traore and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang continued to play impressively to help Barcelona overcome a difficult challenge at Diego Maradona Stadium.

Adama shone with two assists, while Aubameyang scored the Catalan club's fourth goal. The home side only managed two goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Matteo Politano. Combined with a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Barca advanced to the Europa League round of 16 with a 5-3 aggregate score.

Arsenal beat Wolves with an own goal in the 90+5 minute

Goalkeeper Jose Sa's own goal in injury time helped Arsenal earn 3 points in the reception of Wolves in the Premier League round 20 make-up match in the early morning of February 25 (Hanoi time).

Starting lineup of the two teams.

In the 71st minute, when Arsenal were trailing 0-1, coach Mikel Arteta sent Nicolas Pepe onto the field. Player number 19 became the key player to help the home team turn the game around. Pepe shone with the equalizer in the 82nd minute, then made the decisive pass leading to the goal that sealed a 2-1 victory for the home team in the 90+5th minute. Arsenal is only 1 point behind 4th place Man United (45 compared to 46), but still has 2 matches left to play.