Coach Hoang Anh Tuan leads Vietnam at U17 Asian Cup; Ronaldo prepares to set new record for Portugal national team

Nguyen Thi Tam enters the semi-finals of the 2023 World Women's Boxing Championship

Boxer Nguyen Thi Tam defeated third seed Laura Fuertes with an absolute victory 5-0 to enter the semi-finals of the 50kg class of the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championship, taking place in New Delhi, India.

On the evening of March 22, in the round of 8 strongest boxers in the 50kg (light-flyweight) category, Nguyen Thi Tam had to face a very strong opponent - Laura Fuertes from Spain, this boxer is ranked as the third seed of the tournament as a Bronze Medalist at the 2022 World Women's Boxing Championship.

Nguyen Thi Tam will be the only boxer of the Vietnamese women's boxing team to win a medal at this year's tournament. Photo: IBA

However, the Spanish boxer was effectively restrained by Nguyen Thi Tam. The match ended after 6 minutes of intense competition. The Vietnamese representative won absolutely after 3 rounds with a total consensus score from the judges of 30 points, while Laura Fuertes only got 27 points after 3 rounds.

With the achievement of reaching the semi-finals, Nguyen Thi Tam has at least won the Bronze Medal and the prize of 25,000 USD.

The opponent of the Vietnamese representative in the semi-finals is Lkhadiri Wassila (France) - who won the Bronze Medal at the European Boxing Championship in 2014 and 2019.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan leads Vietnam at U17 Asian Cup

To prepare forU17 VietnamAttending the U17 Asian Cup in June, coach Hoang Anh Tuan was appointed to replace coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan. Because coach Nguyen Quoc Tuan - who led Vietnam U17 in the 2023 U17 Asian Cup qualifiers - has accepted to be the coach of Binh Duong Club, he will be busy with domestic tournaments.

With the addition of coach Hoang Anh Tuan to the position of head coach of Vietnam U17, fans will have more hope that Vietnam U17 will go far in the U17 Asian Cup.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan will lead Vietnam at the U17 Asian Cup. Photo: AFC

Because, Mr. Tuan is the one who led the U20 Vietnam team at the U20 Asian Cup (Uzbekistan) quite successfully. In addition, this strategist used to be the head of the U17 Vietnam delegation when Mr. Nguyen Quoc Tuan was still working.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan said that the Vietnam U17 team will have 2 months of training to prepare and will start gathering from April. The training plan has not been determined yet because it depends on the VFF's plan and budget.

In the 2023 AFC U17 Championship qualifiers, Vietnam U17 won the ticket to continue with the top position in the group with 3 wins and won a ticket to the final round. With this achievement, Vietnam U17 was ranked in the third seed group with Malaysia, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.

Mesut Ozil retires

"After careful consideration, I would like to announce my retirement," Mesut Ozil announced on his personal Twitter page. The German midfielder ended his playing career at the age of 34.

The 2014 World Cup winner said: "It's a privilege to play at the top level for 17 years. I'm very grateful for that. In the last few weeks and months I've had a few injuries. I think that's a clear sign that I'm going to hang up my boots."

Ozil announced his retirement from football after terminating his contract with Istanbul Basaksehir early today, March 22. He only joined the team in August 2022 but has only played 4 matches in the Turkish National Championship. Ozil has been absent for a long time due to injury.

Ozil is known as one of the most talented midfielders in world football.

Ozil started out as a talent at Schalke, impressed at Werder Bremen before becoming a world-class star at Real Madrid. After winning numerous trophies, the German midfielder moved to Arsenal for a fee of £42.5 million.

Unfortunately, Ozil's time at Arsenal was short-lived due to injuries. During his time struggling to return to the pitch, Ozil was involved in many troubles on the sidelines. He left Arsenal in 2021 after his contract expired, joining Fenebahce before retiring at Istanbul Basaksehir.

Ronaldo set to set new record for Portugal

Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo turned 38 earlier this year. No longer playing in Europe, the Portuguese superstar moved to play in the Saudi Arabian National Championship for Al Nassr Club at the end of 2022.

Although Ronaldo only played in the Middle East tournament, coach Martinez still surprisingly included his name in the list of players called up to the Portuguese national team in mid-March. Trusted to return to the national team, Ronaldo will have the opportunity to break the record and become the player with the most matches played for a country, 197, if he plays in the match against Liechtenstein on March 24.

Ronaldo is set to set a new record for the Portuguese national team.

Ronaldo has spoken about his goal of playing for Portugal at Euro 2024. The 37-year-old superstar will have the opportunity to extend his record past 200 appearances with nine more Euro 2024 qualifiers to play after the match against Liechtenstein.

In addition, Ronaldo currently holds the record for the most goals scored for a national team with 118 goals. Behind him is Messi (98 goals) and the legendary Ali Daei (109 goals). With 10 matches in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Ronaldo will continue to improve his own record.