Nguyen Xuan Son honored before the 2024 AFF Cup final; FIFA sends special message to the Vietnamese team

Thai newspaper criticizes high price of ASEAN Cup 2024 first leg final tickets

Thai media commented on ticket prices for the first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final at Viet Tri Stadium (Phu Tho) at 8:00 p.m. on January 2.

Thailand's Siam Sport newspaper wrote: "Ticket prices for the final match between the national team and Thailand at Viet Tri Stadium have risen to millions of dong. The announced ticket prices include 500,000 VND/ticket, 700,000 VND/ticket and 1 million VND/ticket. Each person can only buy two tickets and must present their Citizen ID card for confirmation."

Siam Sport newspaper added: "Tickets to watch the semi-final match at Viet Tri Stadium are priced at VND300,000/ticket, VND500,000/ticket and VND600,000/ticket respectively. Tickets to watch the final match are almost twice as high as tickets to watch the semi-final match."

"It is estimated that Viet Tri Stadium has a capacity of 20,000 seats. However, the match organizers only sold about 17,000 tickets. The remaining tickets are for sponsors and partners of the organizers," said Thailand's leading sports newspaper.

Meanwhile, tickets to watch matches taking place at Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand have prices ranging from 14.69 USD (about 373,000 VND), with the lowest ticket price being 5.87 USD (about 149,000 VND).

The first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final at Viet Tri Stadium will begin at 8:00 p.m. on January 2, 2025. Then, on January 5, the two teams will rematch the second leg at Rajamangala Stadium.

Nguyen Xuan Son honored before Vietnam - Thailand final

Naturalized striker ofVietnam team- Nguyen Xuan Son is in the top 10 players with the most goals in the world in 2024, above French star Kylian Mbappe.

Sport Mail (UK) announced the 10 players with the most goals in the world in 2024. Notably, Nguyen Xuan Son (Nam Dinh Club and Vietnam national team) with a total of 40 goals in all competitions ranked 8th/10, above French star - Kylian Mbappe (39 goals).

This is a great honor and a valuable source of encouragement for Nguyen Xuan Son as he enters 2025 with many historical milestones awaiting him.

In addition to conquering the titles of V-League, National Cup, and Asian Cup C2 with Nam Dinh Club, the 27-year-old Brazilian striker has the opportunity to lift the Southeast Asian championship for the first time in the Vietnamese national team's jersey.

After 3 games,Nguyen Xuan Son scored 5 goals, leading the list of top scorers of ASEAN Cup 2025. He is also a strong candidate for the title of Best Player of the tournament.

Before that, he made history for the Vietnamese national team as the first naturalized player to play and score in an official tournament - the Southeast Asian Championship.

2024 is a particularly memorable year for Nguyen Xuan Son, when he scored 35 goals for Nam Dinh Club in all competitions; won the V-League championship with the team, becoming the greatest top scorer in V-League history (31 goals/24 matches); had Vietnamese nationality; was called up, played and scored for the Vietnam national team...

FIFA sends special message to Vietnam team before final with Thailand

FIFA sent special wishes to the Vietnamese team on the occasion of the New Year 2025 and before the first leg of the final.ASEAN Cup 2024.

Right at the first moment of the new year 2025, the fanpage of the World Football Federation (FIFA) posted the status line "Spring comes, waiting for glory!" with a special poster.

On the poster posted by FIFA, there are images of three top Vietnamese football stars, including two strikers Nguyen Xuan Son and Nguyen Tien Linh, and "sideline tornado" Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha.

Not only that, the FIFA World Cup fanpage also included the image of "Golden Dragon" (the nickname of the Vietnam National Team, along with "Golden Star Warriors"), along with some famous historical sites and scenic spots of Vietnam such as Hanoi Flag Tower, Ha Long Bay or Golden Bridge.

That shows that FIFA pays special attention and sends special wishes to the Vietnamese team right before the first leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final at Viet Tri Stadium.

According to the schedule, the Vietnamese team will play the first leg at home at Viet Tri Stadium, at 8:00 p.m. on January 2, 2025. Three days later, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will play the first leg at home at Viet Tri Stadium.rematch Thailand, at Rajamangala Stadium (Bangkok), also at the same time.

Davies deal nears closure

Manchester United and Real Madrid are likely to fail in their pursuit of defender Alphonso Davies.

AS reports that Bayern Munich are ready to accept any salary offer from Davies and his agent Nedal Huoseh. The Canadian international wants a salary of no less than €15 million per season, plus a €15 million signing bonus.

Kicker said the Bavarian club wanted to complete the deal to keep Davies in January this year. Previously, Davies and his agent also requested a salary of over 20 million euros per season, a figure that could make it difficult for any team to recruit him. However, after a period of negotiation, Bayern Munich succeeded in asking Davies to reduce his salary but increase his signing-on fee.

Davies has been in impressive form since the start of the season. The Bayern left-back has earned the full trust of coach Kompany and is showing consistency. This has made Bayern Munich's board of directors determined to keep the player, even if it means breaking the wage bill. Davies' contract with Bayern expires in June 2025.

The Canadian defender will be free to negotiate with any club other than Bayern from this month, but the Manchester United and Real Madrid bosses are hesitant to pay such a high salary for a new signing, even if the player arrives on a free./.