Coach Kim Sang-sik has 5 days to win his debut match with Vietnam; MU close to £60 million target
(Baonghean.vn) - Coach Kim Sang-sik has 5 days to win his debut match for the Vietnamese team; Nguyen Thi Oanh wins the Gold Medal at the 2024 Hong Kong Open Athletics; MU closes in on the £60 million target... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
Coach Kim Sang-sik has 5 days to win his debut match with the Vietnamese team
As planned, on May 6, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will hold a signing ceremony and announce the contract of head coach of the national team and national U23 team with Mr. Kim Sang-sik (48 years old, Korean).
After that, Mr. Kim will attend the V-League to select personnel for the Vietnamese team towards the remaining two matches of Group F, the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, against the Philippines (June 6) and Iraq (June 11).
The Vietnamese team is expected to gather on June 1 right after the 22nd round of the V-League ends the night before. Thus, coach Kim Sang-sik has a total of 5 days to prepare for his debut match against the Philippines at My Dinh Stadium.
The short time frame is a big challenge for the new Korean head coach. Therefore, advice from the VFF's professional department, especially from domestic assistants, will be very useful for Mr. Kim - who is new to Vietnamese football.
In Group F, Vietnam (4 points) is currently ranked third after Indonesia (7 points) and Iraq (12 points) and has lost the right to decide the ticket to the next round for the second-place team. To compete with Indonesia, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team must beat the Philippines and Iraq, and wait for Indonesia to stumble.
Faced with a slim chance, VFF did not set a target for Mr. Kim. However, a victory against a weak opponent like the Philippines on the debut day is what everyone is waiting for from the new coach of the Vietnam national team.
Nguyen Thi Oanh won the Gold Medal at the 2024 Hong Kong Open Athletics Championships
On May 5, athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh easily won the 3,000m steeplechase event, winning the Gold Medal at the 2024 Hong Kong Athletics Championships.
Coach Tran Van Sy said: "Nguyen Thi Oanh's achievement at the tournament is quite good, surpassing the SEA Games 32 Gold Medal achievement (10 minutes 34 seconds 37). Although it is still less than the achievement of 9 minutes 57 seconds 13 that she conquered at ASIAD 19, this parameter shows stability at the present time. And this is also the parameter that tops the Southeast Asian rankings in 2024, up to this point."
Nguyen Thi Oanh will continue to compete in the women's 5,000m event at the 2024 Hong Kong International Athletics Championships. If there are no big surprises, the gold medal in this event will be difficult to slip away from Vietnam's number 1 runner in the middle-long distance.
The Vietnamese athletics team participating in the 2024 Hong Kong Open Athletics includes 2 coaches: Nguyen Manh Hieu, Tran Van Sy and 4 athletes: Nguyen Thi Oanh, Bui Thi Nguyen, Hoang Thanh Giang and Bui Thi Loan.
Vietnam team may meet Indonesia again in AFF Cup group stage
On May 21, in Hanoi, the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) will hold the draw for the 2024 AFF Cup, which will have a new name, the ASEAN Cup.
The performance of the teams in the two most recent tournaments is the basis for AFF to classify the seeds, with 5 seed groups for 10 teams.
Accordingly, the Thai team is in the number 1 seed group because they won the last 2 championships. The remaining spot in group 1 has a 99% chance of being the Vietnamese team, when we enter the semi-finals of the 2020 tournament and win the runner-up position in 2022.
Indonesia also reached the semi-finals (2022) and won the runner-up position (2020) in the last 2 AFF tournaments. However, considering specific achievements based on sub-indices, Vietnam is still ranked above Indonesia.
If the Vietnamese team is placed in group 1, Indonesia will be in group 2. That makes the possibility of these two teams being in the same group very high.
According to the schedule, AFF Cup 2024 will take place from November 23 to December 21, 2024.
Reus is not worried about unemployment
Besiktas and a number of clubs in the US are paying special attention to Marco Reus, who will leave Borussia Dortmund after the 2023/24 season ends.
Even at 34, Reus still has value to contribute. This is what attracts him to the Turkish club Besiktas. In case he wants to leave Europe, the German midfielder can also go to America to play football.
But so far, Reus has not spoken about the next destination in his career. On May 3, the 34-year-old midfielder announced his farewell to Borussia Dortmund after 12 years of association, leaving the team's fans with regrets.
According to German media, in addition to Besiktas showing interest in Reus, Al-Nassr, Man City and Inter Miami are also considered potential destinations for the 34-year-old midfielder.
MU close to 60 million pound target
The Guardian reports that Manchester United are leading the race to sign Olise, with the Crystal Palace striker ready to seek a new challenge this summer when his £60m release clause comes into effect.
The new MU board, including INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have been highly appreciating Olise since last year. The 22-year-old player has attracted the attention of experts since the 2022/23 season.
In the summer of 2023, the player almost joined Chelsea for £35 million. But the Palace board later successfully convinced the player to extend his contract.
ESPN confirms Sir Jim Ratcliffe has agreed to a proposal from the MU scouting team to spend around £60 million on recruiting players.
Besides MU, other teams interested in Olise include Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal./.
