EURO 2024: What are the chances for the championship candidates?; Indonesia faces the Asian 'giants'
The draw put coach Shin Tae-yong and his team in group C with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia...; Except for the Spanish team that played really convincingly, all the remaining championship candidates at EURO 2024 revealed problems... Those are the outstanding sports news in the past 24 hours.
Indonesia faces Asian giants in third qualifying round of 2026 World Cup
The 18 teams that qualified from the second qualifying round were divided into three groups of six teams each. The seeding (1 to 6) was based on each team's position in the FIFA rankings as of June 2024.
Accordingly, Indonesia - the only representative from Southeast Asia, ranked 134th in the world, is in the 6th seed group (lowest) with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (ranked 110) and Kuwait (ranked 137).
At the draw ceremony on the afternoon of June 27, the draw put coach Shin Tae-yong and his team in group C with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China and Bahrain.
The third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup will take place from September 5 to June 10, 2025. The groups will compete in a double round-robin format, with the first and second-placed teams advancing directly to the 2026 World Cup. The third and fourth-placed teams will advance to the fourth qualifying round to compete for a play-off spot.
Thus, the Indonesian team will have at least 10 quality matches in round 3 to continue to nurture its ambition to participate in the World Cup and move towards entering the world's top 100 before 2026 as the goal set by the country's football federation.
EURO 2024: What are the chances for the championship candidates?
Except for the Spanish team, who played really convincingly, all the remaining championship candidates at EURO 2024 showed problems at different levels.
The eight matches of the round of 16 of EURO 2024 have been determined. Overall, there have been no major surprises for this year's EURO championship candidates, as the "candidate group" including Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, England, Italy and the Netherlands are all present in the round of 16. However, the group stage performances have revealed a worrying reality for most of the championship candidates. Except for the Spanish team, who played really convincingly, all the remaining candidates have shown problems at different levels.
Portugal, who looked both strong and lucky, were surprisingly defeated by Georgia. England were considered the top contenders but their attacks were soulless and unimaginative. Germany started with a "massacre" of Scotland but ended the group stage with a "dynamite" match against Switzerland.
The French team was considered a candidate for the Top 2 championship but played extremely poorly against the "underdog" teams and was too dependent on striker Mbappe. The Italian team had weak finishing and lacked creativity, while the Dutch team had a shaky defense.
Of these 7 candidates, Spain, Germany, France, and Portugal are in the same bracket and must be eliminated from each other. England, Italy, and the Netherlands are in the remaining bracket and must also be eliminated from each other.
MU wants to sell Rashford early because of indiscipline
MU is ready to reduce the selling price of Marcus Rashford in the summer transfer market of 2024 instead of the desired price of up to 70-80 million pounds.
British media confirmed earlier this summer that MU would sell Rashford if they received a strong enough offer, around 70 million pounds. However, after assessing the team's situation before the new season, the "Red Devils" leadership is ready to part with the English striker for a lower price.
Timesrevealed Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his staff are unhappy with Rashford's behaviour since the end of the 2023/24 season. The England star does not seem to mind being left out of the EURO 2024 squad.
The MU striker has been seen smiling, dancing and partying until late at night in bars recently. This has made MU's new leadership team unhappy. The top goal of the Old Trafford team in the summer is to clean up the squad and restore discipline at the club.
Ho Chi Minh City Club is ready to spend big for Patrik Le Giang
Patrik Le Giang is one of the overseas Vietnamese stars playing in the V-League. From the middle of the 2023 V-League season until now, Le Giang has played for Ho Chi Minh City Club.
Patrik Le Giang came to Ho Chi Minh City Club on loan from CAHN. By the end of June 2024, the contract between the goalkeeper born in 1992 and the Police team will end.
Ho Chi Minh City FC still wants to have the service of Patrik Le Giang next season. The "Red Battleship" is willing to spend a large sum of money to have the signature of the overseas Vietnamese star.