Vietnam national team's key player cannot attend U23 Asian tournament; Former Nam Dinh coach declares he wants to lead the Korean national team
(Baonghean.vn) - Vietnam national team's key player cannot attend the U23 Asian tournament; Surprise with ticket prices for the 2024 U23 Asian finals; Former Nam Dinh coach declares he wants to lead the Korean national team... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
Vietnam national team's mainstay cannot attend U23 Asian tournament
Outstanding defender Phan Tuan Tai was forced to leave the Vietnam U23 team before the 2024 U23 Asian Cup finals due to a knee injury.
This is very bad news for coach Hoang Anh Tuan as well as the Vietnam U23 team.
Tuan Tai is 23 years old this year, a mainstay of the National Team in the left-back position. He has done a great job in taking over the role left by his senior Doan Van Hau when he was injured and unable to play.
Two years ago, Tuan Tai played impressively at the 2022 AFC U23 Championship Finals, helping Vietnam U23 reach the quarterfinals.
On the morning of April 8, coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team will depart for Qatar. Here, the 56-year-old strategist will shorten the official list to 23 players to participate in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship Finals.
In this year's tournament, the U23 Vietnam team is in Group D with Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Malaysia. According to the schedule, U23 Vietnam will play its opening match against Kuwait on April 17, then Malaysia on April 20 and finally Uzbekistan on April 23.
Former Nam Dinh coach declares he wants to lead the Korean National Team
French women's team coach Herve Renard expressed his desire to become the leader of the Korean National Team.
The 55-year-old coach's intentions were revealed by Sports Chosun. Renard admitted that if he were to lead the Korean National Team, he would make his long-standing dream come true.
“I want to participate in the 2026 World Cup with the Korean team. Although some teams have expressed interest in me, my priority is always the Korean national team," he said.
Coach Renard once led Nam Dinh but was unsuccessful. After that, he went to work in Africa. Renard's name began to spread when he led Zambia to win the 2012 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
He then enjoyed success with the Morocco and Saudi Arabian national teams, both times helping his team qualify for the World Cup (2018 and 2022). In particular, Renard helped Saudi Arabia defeat Argentina to create one of the biggest shocks in history.
He then took charge of the French women's team, where he led the team to the semi-finals of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Surprise with ticket prices to watch the final round of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship
Vietnamese football fans can easily enter the stadium to watch matches at the U23 Asian Cup Finals, and do not have difficulty with costs as tickets cost only 100,000 VND.
Accordingly, the 2024 AFC U23 Championship is the second consecutive major event hosted by AFC that Qatar has hosted. Previously, they successfully organized the 2023 Asian Cup finals. The preferential price of the host Qatar at that time was a bright spot (VND 260,000/ticket).
For the U23 tournament, the ticket price is less than 1/3. On April 6, the organizers opened the ticket sales gate. The ticket price for the group stage matches is 15 Qatari riyals, equivalent to 100,000 VND.
Ticket prices will increase in the next round, but generally not significantly. Fans will not have any difficulty entering the stadium to watch the teams compete. The Hayya card rule at the 2022 World Cup has also been removed. As in the 2023 Asian Cup finals, Qatar does not require fans to use Hayya cards to enter the stadium to watch the matches.
Qatar advises fans that they can only purchase tickets via desktop or mobile applications. Transfer tickets will not be recognised.
Malaysia is about to have the most expensive player in Southeast Asia?
When successfully naturalizing English Premier League star Josh Brownhill, the Malaysian team will own the most expensive player in Southeast Asia.
Malaysian website Bernama reported that midfielder Josh Brownhill's grandmother is Malaysian and settled in England. Midfielder Josh Brownhill was born in England and is of Malaysian descent.
This criterion, combined with the fact that Brownhill has never played for any team, means the 28-year-old midfielder is eligible to become a naturalized citizen and play for the Malaysian national team.
“This news is certainly a breath of fresh air for Malaysia, which is preparing for many important international tournaments, including the 2024 AFF Cup and the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers,” Bernama commented.
The Malaysian Football Federation has yet to respond to the information from Bernama. However, fans in this country are calling for Brownhill to become a naturalized citizen and play for the Malaysian national team.
Valued at 18 million euros, if he is successfully naturalized, midfielder Brownhill will become the most expensive Malaysian player in Southeast Asian football - 6 times higher than the current record of naturalized star Thom Haye of the Indonesian team./.