Coach Nishino pointed out Thailand's weaknesses; Xuan Manh hopes to come back strong in the new year

Nishino signs new contract with Thailand

"After working with the Thai national team for more than 7 months, I am very honored but also have problems communicating and adapting to the culture here. During my time working, I received good support from football fans, including the press. I understand that their expectations for the team are quite high. I will try to meet those expectations," coach Akira Nishino said at the contract signing ceremony on the morning of January 24.

On the afternoon of January 22, the President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) Somyot Poompanmuong confirmed that they had reached an agreement to extend the contract with the Japanese coach for another 2 years. Thus, Coach Nishino will lead the Thai team until the end of 2021.

Coach Nishino at the contract signing ceremony. Photo: FAT.

Xuan Manh hopes to come back strong soon

Due to an injury that required surgery, defender Pham Xuan Manh rarely played in the 2019 season for the Nghe An team. At the national team level, although he was called back by coach Park Hang-seo for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia last September, he was unable to make the official roster at the last minute because his form was still not stable.

Xuan Manh's wish when going to the temple on Tet holiday is that he will come back strong in the new 2020 season, especially to be able to reappear in the national team jersey.

Xuan Manh cooks banh chung for Tet.

Xuan Manh expressed: “2019 was an unlucky year for me, but fortunately the injury has completely healed, so I will try my best to be able to come back strong in the club and national team colors. That is also my wish when I went to the temple on the last day of the year of the Pig, hoping for a luckier year of the Rat.”

Van Hau is on the bench again

In the round of 16, Heerenveen hosted Willem II at Abe Lenstra Stadion. Doan Van Hau's team fielded their strongest squad. However, they were unexpectedly behind when Vangelis Pavlidis opened the scoring for Willem II in the 20th minute. In the second half, Heerenveen played with great enthusiasm and scored two consecutive goals.

It was thought that Heereveen would leave the field with a 2-1 victory, but the surprise happened when the visitors equalized in the 81st minute thanks to Damil Dankerlui. After 90 minutes of regulation and extra time, the score was tied at 2-2, forcing the two sides to decide the winner in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.

Van Hau still hasn't had many opportunities in the Netherlands.

On the penalty spot, Heerenveen players showed more courage and won 4-3 in the end. Coach Johnny Jansen used 3 substitutions in this match but Doan Van Hau was not allowed to enter the field.