Indonesia unexpectedly has 'undercurrents' before the match with Vietnam; Inter Miami wins despite Messi's absence
(Baonghean.vn) - Coach Shin Tae-yong was criticized for saying that his team would have difficulty winning against Vietnam; MU rekindled hope of entering the top 5 of the Premier League after Tottenham's shocking loss; Inter Miami won despite Messi's absence... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
Indonesia suddenly has "undercurrents" before the match with Vietnam team
Not long ago, coach Shin Tae-yong commented that it would be difficult for his team to beat Vietnam in the match at Bung Karno Stadium on March 21.
Immediately after this statement by the Korean coach, football expert Budi Setiawan spoke out in criticism.
“The Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) is actively preparing for the goal of defeating the Vietnamese team in the next two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
But looking at coach Shin Tae-yong's statement, I'm not sure what we can expect.
The Korean coach always finds excuses to blame before every match. This time, the reason he gave was that the players traveled a long distance. It’s best if he doesn’t say anything more,” said Budi Setiawan.
The Indonesian expert said that coach Shin Tae-yong always has reasons to justify his mistakes.
According to Mr. Budi Setiawan, if the 1970-born coach cannot do his job and is always afraid of opponents, PSSI should find someone else to replace him.
“A world-class coach never complains about such problems. They always find a way to overcome difficulties.
If coach Shin Tae-yong is not serious in preparing for the remaining matches against Vietnam, the Philippines and Iraq, I think PSSI needs to decide on this coach's future soon," Mr. Budi Setiawan emphasized.
According to plan, the Indonesian team will begin gathering from March 17 to prepare for two matches with the Vietnamese team in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
On March 21, the Indonesian team will host the Vietnamese team at Bung Karno Stadium. Five days later, coach Shin Tae-yong and his team will visit the "Golden Star Warriors".
Vietnam is allowed to participate in AFC Champions League for women's clubs
Following the decision to unify the tournament organization by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Football Committee, Vietnam will be given a place to participate in the tournament until 2027.
The AFC Women's Football Committee has agreed to organise the AFC Women's Champions League for women's football clubs starting from the 2024-2025 season.
Accordingly, the AFC Women's Champions League will be held at a centralized location with 12 teams winning the highest positions in the national women's football championships of member federations (in the top 12 FIFA rankings in Asia).
Thus, Vietnamese women's football, ranked 6th in Asia (37th in the world), will have a default representative to participate in the tournament until the 2026-2027 season.
Starting from the 2027-2028 season, AFC requires women's football clubs in Vietnam to be licensed to participate in this tournament. Clubs will have 3 years to build a roadmap and prepare conditions to meet AFC's licensing criteria.
Previously, in early 2024, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City carried out a plan to establish a joint stock company for the city's female representative named after Uncle Ho. From there, the Board of Directors of the Ho Chi Minh City women's team will soon complete the professional licensing procedures in the 2024-2025 season to aim for the continental tournament.
Also at this meeting, AFC approved the nomination of the host federations for the 2026 and 2029 AFC Women's Asian Cup seasons as the Football Federation of Australia and the Football Federation of Uzbekistan, respectively.
In addition, the meeting decided to postpone the AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup Indonesia 2024 to May 6-19, 2024.
Tottenham suffers shocking defeat, MU rekindles hope for top 5
Tottenham entered the London derby with Fulham with high confidence, after two consecutive wins. However, on a day when Fulham's attack did its job so well, Spurs could only suffer their heaviest defeat of the season.
The 0-3 loss caused the "Rooster" to miss the opportunity to take the 4th position from Aston Villa because they are still 2 points behind their opponent (53 compared to 55). In addition, this loss also rekindled hope, albeit fragile, for MU. According to coach Erik ten Hag, the 5th position in the Premier League can bring a ticket to the new UEFA Champions League format and the 2024/25 season. Currently, the "Red Devils" have 47 points, 6 points behind Tottenham.
In the match at Craven Cottage, Tottenham started well. Opportunities continuously opened up for coach Ange Postecoglou and his team. However, Son Heung-min and James Maddison could not take advantage. In the 42nd minute, a surprise happened when Fulham took the lead after a flank attack.
Antonee Robinson crossed the ball just wide. Rodrigo Muniz controlled it neatly, before finishing with a tricky shot, beating goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Just four minutes into the second half, Spurs' net shook for the second time, thanks to Sasa Lukic's exquisite close-range touch. In the 61st minute, Tottenham's defenders were helpless as Muniz scored the rebound, making it 3-0 for Fulham, after Alex Iwobi's shot hit the post.
If luckier, the score would have been 4-0 in favor of the home team, if Joao Palhinha's goal had not been disallowed by VAR for offside.
Fulham defeated both MU and Tottenham in less than a month, thereby almost completing the goal of staying in the Premier League this season.
Real Madrid increase gap with Barca to 11 points
Vinicius Jr's brace and Carvajal and Brahim Diaz's goals helped Real Madrid win 4-2 against Osasuna in round 29 of La Liga, thereby leaving Barca 11 points behind.
Playing away at Osasuna and being rated higher, Real Madrid entered the match with a proactive mindset. In the 4th minute, Vinicius shone with a successful ball steal from the home team's defender before defeating goalkeeper Herrera in a one-on-one situation, opening the score 1-0 for the match. The Brazilian striker was in good form when scoring in 4 consecutive matches in all competitions with 6 goals.
Just 3 minutes later, Osasuna responded in the 7th minute. From a chaotic situation in the penalty area, Ante Budimir fired a close-range shot, equalizing 1-1 for the home team. However, the home team did not enjoy the joy for long when in the 18th minute, Fedrico Valverd skillfully controlled the ball, before making a pass like setting up for Dani Carvajal to raise the score to 2-1 for "Los Blancos".
It was Valverde who made a perfect through ball for Brahim Diaz to break through and make it 3-1 for Real Madrid in the 61st minute. The Uruguayan midfielder also made a perfect wall, creating conditions for Vinicius to score another goal to complete his double in the second half in the 64th minute by dribbling and finishing on the left wing, making it 4-1.
Real Madrid could have won by a bigger margin if midfielder Arda Guler's shot had been luckier instead of hitting the crossbar. In the 90+1 minute, Iker Minoz had a finishing situation that "threaded the needle" of goalkeeper Lunin, shortening the score to 2-4. The remaining time was not enough for the home team to create a surprise and accept defeat against Real Madrid.
With this victory, Real Madrid remains firmly at the top of the La Liga standings with 72 points, temporarily increasing the gap to 11 points over arch-rival Barca. In addition, this victory is also a perfect warm-up for Real Madrid before meeting a tough opponent, Bilbao, in round 30 of La Liga and a match that is considered very difficult against Man City in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Inter Miami wins despite Messi's absence
Without Lionel Messi due to injury, Suarez shone to help Inter Miami win 3-1 against host DC United in the early morning of March 17 in round 5 of the US Major League Soccer (MLS).
Before this match, Inter Miami confirmed that Messi could not play due to injury. Suarez and Jordi Alba had to sit on the bench.
That made Inter Miami not start well and they conceded the first goal in the 14th minute. The scorer was 27-year-old midfielder Jared Stroud with a very strong shot in the penalty area to help DC United lead 1-0.
Exactly 10 minutes later, Inter Miami responded with an equalizer from Leonardo Campana to make it 1-1. In the following minutes, Inter Miami dominated their opponents. However, their attacks were quite deadlocked.
So after the halftime break, coach Tata Martino sent Inter Miami's top scorer Luis Suarez onto the field in the 62nd minute. The appearance of the Uruguayan superstar made Inter Miami's attacking play much more dangerous.
In the 72nd minute, Suarez scored from close range to raise the score to 2-1 for Inter Miami, after a well-placed pass from Leonardo Campana. In the 85th minute, Suarez once again spoke up with a goal that sealed the 3-1 victory for Inter Miami.
With two goals in this match, Suarez has scored 6 goals in 7 matches for Inter Miami. With 3 points, Inter Miami temporarily leads the rankings, with 10 points.
