Vietnam's World Cup hero honored by FIFA homepage; Leverkusen's dream of winning Bundesliga is far away

World Cup hero of Vietnamese football honored by FIFA homepage

Recently, the FIFA Women's World Cup homepage mentioned the coachMai Duc Chung, honored him with the title "Hero of Labor".

Specifically, on the official social network, FIFA posted a picture of coach Mai Duc Chung with the title "Hero of Labor". This is a worthy recognition for his great contributions to Vietnamese football, especially when he was just awarded this noble title by the State.

Decision No. 149/QD-CTN of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, signed on January 24, clearly states: "Awarding the title of Hero of Labor to Mr. Mai Duc Chung, former head coach of the Vietnam National Women's Football Team, for his outstanding achievements in creative labor, contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland."

At the age of 76, Coach Mai Duc Chung left a strong mark in his coaching career when he helped the Vietnamese women's team win: 8 gold medals at the SEA Games (1997, 2003, 2005, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023); the 2019 AFF Cup Championship; 4th place at the 2014 ASIAD; 5th place at the 2022 Asian Cup.

And in particular, he led the Vietnamese women's team to win a ticket to the 2023 World Cup - the first time in the history of women's football in the country.

Sharing about this title, Coach Mai Duc Chung was moved: “This is the most noble award in my life. This title is not only an honor for me but also for my whole family. I would like to thank the Party, the State, the authorities, the National Training Center 1, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and my colleagues and players who have always accompanied me on this journey.”

Thanh Hoa Club sends petition to VFF about FIFA referee

The board of directors of Dong A Thanh Hoa Club has just announced that they will send a document requesting the VFF to check the FIFA referee qualifications of Mr. Le Vu Linh after controversial decisions in round 13 of the V-League.

In the match against Ho Chi Minh City Club, Thanh Hoa only managed a 2-2 draw, thereby missing the opportunity to rise to the top of the table. After the match, the coaching staff and players of the Thanh Hoa team expressed their dissatisfaction with the refereeing. Coach Popov and Technical Director Hoang Thanh Tung were both dismissed due to their strong reactions to the referee's decision at the end of the first half.

Assistant coach Mai Xuan Hop was upset: "We really wanted to win three points, but the match was torn apart. Some situations on the field were too obvious, no need to repeat, but they directly affected the outcome of the match."

According to the leaders of Thanh Hoa Club, the decision to give coach Popov a red card was unconvincing. When the Bulgarian strategist reacted to Thanh Long's foul, referee Le Vu Linh suddenly approached and immediately gave him the card.

Coach Popov is no stranger to suspensions in the V-League. In the 2023/24 season, he was banned from coaching in round 22 when Thanh Hoa faced Hoang Anh Gia Lai. Before that, in round 8, he had to sit out the match against Quang Nam due to receiving three yellow cards.

After 13 rounds, Thanh Hoa currently has 23 points, temporarily ranked second in the table, 1 point behind the leading team, Nam Dinh Steel Blue, but has played one less match.

Man City rookie scores hat-trick in 14 minutes

The British media predicted that Newcastle would cause Man City a lot of trouble, but the reality on the pitch was completely the opposite. Pep Guardiola's team controlled the game, scoring three goals in the first half.

The one who shone brightly was Omar Marmoush, the new signing who had just joined Man City from Stuttgart. In just 14 minutes, he scored his first hat-trick for the reigning Premier League champions. Minute 19: Ederson passed the ball accurately, Marmoush accelerated and lifted the ball over Dubravka's head, opening the score.

Minute 24: The Egyptian striker dribbled confidently and then unleashed a thunderous shot from outside the penalty area, raising the score to 2-0.

Minute 33: Marmoush cushioned the ball close to the goal after Savinho's cross, completing his hat-trick.

In the second half, Man City slowed down to save energy for the big match with Real Madrid in the Champions League. In the 84th minute, young talent McAtee scored the winning goal to seal a 4-0 victory for the Etihad team.

The three points helped Man City rise to the top 4 with 44 points, 1 point more than Bournemouth and Chelsea. However, this victory was not complete when Erling Haaland was injured and forced to leave the field in the 88th minute.

Real Madrid at risk of losing top spot

Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Osasuna in round 24 of La Liga, creating an opportunity for Atletico Madrid to narrow the gap.

In the 15th minute, Federico Valverde assisted Kylian Mbappé to tap the ball in from close range, opening the score for Real. This was Mbappé's 25th goal in his first season at the Bernabeu.

However, the turning point came in the 40th minute when Jude Bellingham received a red card for protesting against the referee. With this penalty, the English midfielder will be suspended for 3 matches.

In the second half, Osasuna was awarded a penalty after Camavinga committed a foul in the penalty area. Ante Budimir took advantage of the opportunity to equalize 1-1 for the home team.

This result puts Real Madrid on 51 points, 2 points ahead of Atletico, but they risk losing the top spot if their city rivals beat Celta Vigo in this round.

Leverkusen's dream of winning the Bundesliga is far away

At home at Bay Arena, Leverkusen was held to a 0-0 draw by Bayern Munich despite completely controlling the game.

Leverkusen had 15 shots with an expected goals (xG) of 2.19, while Bayern had a record low xG of 0.05.

Despite maintaining an eight-point gap with Leverkusen, Bayern were still disappointing when, for the first time in 17 years, they failed to have a single shot on target in the entire match.

The draw puts Leverkusen in a difficult position in the title race, while Harry Kane continues to nurture hopes of winning the first title of his career.