Hoang Anh Gia Lai has a historic draw at the Asian Cup; Coach Park unexpectedly recruits more players for U23

Hoang Anh Gia Lai has historic draw at Asian Cup

Striker Van Toan's classy goal helped Hoang Anh Gia Lai have a historic draw against Jeonbuk - Korea's number 1 team.

On the evening of April 25, at Thong Nhat Stadium (Ho Chi Minh City), Hoang Anh Gia Lai hosted Jeonbuk in the second leg of Group H of the 2022 AFC Champions League. Having won 1-0 in the first leg, Jeonbuk entered the match in a rather relaxed spirit. In the 18th minute, from a corner kick, player Kim Seon-min headed in from close range to open the score for the Korean representative.

After conceding the goal,Hoang Anh Gia Laireacted quite strongly and caused some trouble for Jeonbuk's goal. In the 22nd minute, Van Thanh crossed for Minh Vuong to compete and launch a header. Unfortunately, the ball hit a Jeonbuk defender and went out of bounds.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai's most dangerous chance in the first half came in the 38th minute. Striker Brandao got past the Jeonbuk centre-back before dribbling into the penalty area. Despite having a one-on-one opportunity, the Brazilian's low shot was not dangerous enough to beat goalkeeper Bumkeun.

Van Toan's joy when scoring against Jeonbuk. Photo: Bongda24h.

Entering the second half, Hoang Anh Gia Lai continued to attack diligently and their efforts were rewarded in the 62nd minute. Center back Huu Tuan, in a sudden move up the middle, made a classy pass for Van Toan to receive the ball and then decisively shoot into the Jeonbuk net, tying the score 1-1 for the home team.

After the match was brought back to the starting line, it was Jeonbuk's turn to attack with all their might. However, the most dangerous opportunities of the match in the second half were created by Hoang Anh Gia Lai players. In the 75th minute, Hoang Anh Gia Lai player Kim Dong-su had a close-range shot, but unfortunately the ball hit a Jeonbuk defender. A minute later, Van Toan fired a powerful shot from close to the 16m50 line, but the ball missed the goal by a hair.

In the remaining minutes, both Jeonbuk and Hoang Anh Gia Lai created some dangerous situations but neither side scored more goals. Holding Jeonbuk to a 1-1 draw is a historic achievement for Hoang Anh Gia Lai in particular and Vietnamese football in general. Because Jeonbuk is the current champion of Korean football, the team has won the Asian Cup C1/AFC Champions League twice.

With the above result, Hoang Anh Gia Lai currently has 2 points after 4 matches, thereby rising to 3rd place. Meanwhile, Jeonbuk lost the top spot in Group H of the AFC Champions League 2022 to Yokohama - the team that previously beat Sydney FC with a score of 3-0.

Coach Park Hang-seo unexpectedly recruits more players for U23 Vietnam

Information from the Vietnam Football Federation on the evening of April 25 said that the Vietnam U23 team has just called up midfielder Nguyen Hai Long for the journey to conquer the Gold Medal of the 31st SEA Games.

Because he was in Hanoi, Hai Long joined forces early.U23 Vietnamimmediately after the decision to call up was made. At the training session on the afternoon of April 25, Hai Long showed that he quickly caught up with his teammates. This is also understandable, because Hai Long was one of the outstanding factors of U23 Vietnam in the 2022 U23 Asian Qualifiers.

Midfielder Hai Long (No. 38) quickly integrated with his teammates at U23 Vietnam. Photo: VFF.

Midfielder Nguyen Hai Longis considered by experts to be a player with technical playing style and the ability to create breakthroughs on the field. If he shows his qualities well, the player currently playing for Hanoi FC can completely compete for a position in the official squad of U23 Vietnam at SEA Games 31.

With the addition of Hai Long, the number of U23 Vietnam players at this point is 33. Previously, coach Park Hang-seo had proposed adding 3 more players to U23 Vietnam, including defender Dang Van Toi (Hanoi FC), Luong Duy Cuong (SHB Da Nang) and striker Le Xuan Tu (Hanoi FC).

It is expected that on April 30, the U23 Vietnam team will finish training in Hanoi and move to Phu Tho, the venue for the Group A matches of the men's football event of the 31st SEA Games. The goal of the U23 Vietnam team is to defend the Gold Medal won at the 30th SEA Games - Philippines in 2019.

SEA Games opening ceremony will not sell tickets

Opening CeremonySEA Games 31will take place at My Dinh Stadium on the evening of May 12. All tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies, the final match and the bronze medal match for men's football at the 31st SEA Games will be under the management of the organizing committee of the congress.

Accordingly, the Organizing Committee will not sell tickets for the opening ceremony, only issuing about 20,000 invitation tickets for guests, athletes, and sports delegations from various countries to My Dinh Stadium to attend the ceremony.

My Dinh Stadium is ready for the opening ceremony of SEA Games 31.

My Dinh Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 seats, however, according to the opening ceremony script, the entire area of ​​stand B was used as a performance stage. Stands C and D were used as seats for sports delegations attending the ceremony.

Therefore, only about 20,000 tickets can be issued for the A stand of My Dinh Stadium. These tickets are used to distribute to many places: government officials, international officials, embassies of countries in Vietnam...

The opening ceremony of the 31st SEA Games will last 120 minutes at My Dinh Stadium. According to the script, after the parade of 11 sports delegations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is expected to declare the opening of the 31st SEA Games.

Anfield stadium vandalized after Liverpool beat Everton

On the day Everton lost 0-2 to Liverpool last night, April 25 (round 34 of the Premier League 2021/22), the away team's fans could not keep calm and acted in an ugly manner, causing damage to the home team at Anfield.

Everton are currently in poor form, having won just one and lost three of their last four visits to Liverpool. In the recent Merseside derby, they tried to hold the Reds to a draw until the 62nd minute, but ultimately had to leave empty-handed after Robertson and Origi scored.

Witnessing their favorite team lose 2-0, some Everton fans vented their anger by smashing equipment at Anfield.

Image of Anfield stadium being vandalized after the match.

According to images recorded by the media, they not only broke electrical wires, punctured the ceiling, but also broke the screen of a large TV.

It is not yet clear whether the vandals have been arrested and prosecuted, but one thing is certain: the image of Everton fans has become very ugly. What has happened, of course, has increased the already strong rivalry between Liverpool and their Merseyside neighbours.

Having just lost to Liverpool, coach Frank Lampard's team is not sure if they can stay in the number 1 playground in the foggy country when the 2021/22 season ends. They are currently ranked 18th in the rankings, 2 points away from the safe zone (29 compared to 31) but have played 1 less game than the team right above them, Burnley (32 compared to 33).

Thanh Hien