The Philippines coach is under pressure as he only has 15 players and the goalkeeper to face Vietnam.
(Baonghean.vn) - According to observations by Baonghean.vn during the training session at My Dinh Stadium before facing the Vietnamese national team, Coach Eriksson seemed quite worried about the strength of the Philippine national team. Although earlier at the press conference, he confidently stated that his players would score in the return match.
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| The visiting team's players are practicing at My Dinh Stadium; in the first leg, they lost to Vietnam 1-2. Photo: Trung Kien |
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| At this morning's press conference, Wayne Rooney, the manager who once coached David Beckham, said: "In my career, I've never had so few players (only 18 players traveled to Vietnam for the second leg of the semi-final). However, for me, 18 players is more than enough. We will play offensively from the start, hoping to score an early goal to gain a psychological advantage." Photo: Trung Kien |
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| However, when the training session began, the veteran strategist appeared very worried and spent dozens of minutes giving instructions to his players. Photo: Trung Kien |
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| Midfielder Manuel Ott, a crucial player in the Philippines' midfield, was unable to participate in this afternoon's training session due to injury. Photo: Trung Kien |
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| In addition, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge's return to England to play for his club leaves the Philippine national team with only two goalkeepers. Photo: Trung Kien |
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| After the recent sports events, the grass at My Dinh Stadium has deteriorated somewhat and is no longer as green as before. Photo: Trung Kien |
According to current regulations, FIFA stipulates five international match periods per year (known as FIFA Days or FIFA International Match Calendar).
These 5 events occurred at the following times:
+ Late March (usually 25-31)
+ Early June (usually 3-10)
+ Early September (usually October 1-10)
October (usually October 7-15)
November (usually 10-17)
During these five periods, clubs are obligated to release players to their national teams at least two days before the match; any team that fails to do so will be penalized according to FIFA regulations.
In addition to these five periods, clubs are also obligated to release players to national teams for continental and world-level tournaments including: EURO, World Cup, CAN, Copa America, FIFA Confederations Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup, Asian Cup, and OFC Nations Cup.
Outside of the aforementioned tournaments and time periods, clubs are not obligated to release players to their national teams. National teams will receive players if negotiations are successful; otherwise, they will have to accept the loss of players.
This year's AFF Cup takes place from November 8th to December 15th. This means there's a period from November 8th to 17th that coincides with the FIFA calendar. Therefore, the goalkeeper currently playing in the English Premier League for the Philippines will only participate in two matches at the 2018 AFF Cup. The same applies to the four Thai players currently playing abroad.
The Philippines coach compares the atmosphere of the AFF Cup to that of the UEFA Champions League.
(Baonghean.vn) - At the press conference this afternoon (December 5th) before the second leg of the 2018 AFF Cup semi-final, Coach Park Hang-seo was full of confidence. Meanwhile, Coach Eriksson expressed surprise at the attention given to this tournament by the Vietnamese and regional media.
