Vietnam team hits worst mark in 7 years; Thomas Tuchel officially becomes England team head coach

Vietnam team hits worst mark in 7 years

The FIFA rankings for October 2024 were updated by the World Football Federation after this week's international matches. The Vietnamese team will definitely drop in rank.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team only played 1 match in October. Vietnam teamIndiawith a score of 1-1 at Thien Truong Stadium on the evening of October 12.

India ranked 126th in the world in the latest rankings, 10 places below the Vietnamese team. According to FIFA's Elo formula, the Vietnamese team was deducted 0.27 points for drawing with the team ranked below.

This minus point is not large but is still enough to make the Vietnamese team drop 3 places. The reason is that there are 3 teams behind that have improved dramatically. They are Comoros (ranked 118, expected to increase 10 places to 108), Sudan (ranked 120, expected to increase 10 places) and Zimbabwe (ranked 124, expected to increase 7 places).

Rank 119 in the world is the lowest position of the Vietnamese team since November 2017. The last time the Vietnamese team was ranked lower than this mark was when coach Park Hang Seo took office - ranked 121 in the world.

While Vietnam continues to drop in the rankings, Thailand continues to climb. The Thai team is expected to rise 4 places, reaching 96th place in the upcoming FIFA rankings.

VFF works with coach Kim Sang Sik

In order to help the Vietnamese team prepare best for the 2024 AFF Cup Southeast Asian Championship at the end of this year, recently, the VFF - headed by Vice President Tran Anh Tu - chaired a meeting with Vietnam coach Kim Sang Sik with the participation of many senior officials.

At the meeting, coach Kim Sang Sik reported on the team's professional results through two training sessions and friendly matches during FIFA Days in September and October.

The Korean strategist also pointed out the difficulties and advantages of the team as well as the limitations that need to be overcome in terms of personnel and playing style that have been revealed through recent friendly tournaments.

In return, the National Coaching Council has also made professional contributions to Mr. Kim with the goal of helping the Vietnamese team perform well at the ASEAN Cup 2024, which will take place in December.

Regarding the plan to gather in November, the Vietnamese team will go to Korea for training and have some practice matches in the land of Kim Chi.

Regarding the goal of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2024, Vice President Tran Anh Tu said: "The goal is still to reach the final and strive to compete for the AFF Cup championship. Although the current form is not stable, we believe in the ability of the players and the coaching staff.

In football, there are times of winning, times of losing, and ups and downs. I believe that the spirit of solidarity and positive energy will help the Vietnamese team overcome the difficult period and enter a new development cycle."

AFC rejects Indonesia's complaint after loss to China

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has rejected Indonesia's complaint about the referee in the match against Bahrain on October 10.

"The AFC responded that they had received the complaint from PSSI and that it would not affect the match result. To resolve further related issues, we were advised to submit a report to FIFA," the AFC's response to the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) on October 15 said.

Head of the Indonesian delegation Sumardji said PSSI had reported to FIFA but the agency asked Indonesia to send a petition to the AFC for resolution.

"Actually, we also sent a request to FIFA and the answer we received was to go to AFC. This is strange," said the head of the Indonesian delegation.

The match between Bahrain and Indonesia on October 10 in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers had 7 minutes of added time. PSSI accused the referee of favoring Bahrain, bringing the match to the 9th minute of added time to create conditions for the home team to equalize Indonesia 2-2. PSSI also asked the AFC to review the work of the VAR referee team in this match.

According to CNN Indonesia, PSSI's complaint against the refereeing team that officiated the match between Bahrain and Indonesia was not well-founded. The evidence provided by Indonesia was completely insufficient to prove any wrongdoing. Therefore, the match result remained the same. The main referee, Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman), was also not disciplined.

The Oman Football Association (OFA) has defended referee Al-Kaf after he was attacked on social media. Since the Indonesia-Bahrain match, Al-Kaf has received many threats from fans of the archipelago, which has seriously affected his mental health.

Referee Al-Kaf has officiated several matches involving the Vietnamese national team. He was the main referee for Vietnam's 0-0 draw with Thailand in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup at My Dinh Stadium.

Thomas Tuchel officially becomes England national team head coach

The English Football Association has officially confirmed that German strategist Thomas Tuchel has officially become the "captain" of the England team.

The FA did not provide details of the contract, but many believe Tuchel will stay with the Three Lions for 18 months.

With this contract, Thomas Tuchel will be the third foreign coach to lead the England team, after the late coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

According to the announcement, Coach Thomas Tuchel and assistant Anthony Barry will start leading the England team on January 1, 2025.

Between now and 1 January 2025, England will play two Nations League group stage matches in November under caretaker manager Lee Carsley.

With the decision to appoint Thomas Tuchel, the goal that the English Football Association aims for the Three Lions is to win the 2026 World Cup.

Before officially becoming the "captain" of the England team, Coach Thomas Tuchel led many top European teams and won many titles.

He has won 11 titles, including Champions League, European Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup (Chelsea), 2 Ligue 1, 2 French Super Cup, 1 French Cup, 1 French League Cup (PSG), won the German Super Cup (Dortmund) and Bundesliga (Bayern Munich).

MU attracts 3 stars from Bayern Munich

In the summer transfer window, MU recruited two members from Bayern Munich to strengthen the defense, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.

MU representatives once again turned their eyes to Bavaria in an effort to find reinforcements for the 2025-26 season.

Sky Sports German version said that MU plans to take 3 Bayern Munich players: left-back Alphonso Davies, striker Leroy Sane and midfielder Leon Goretzka.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the MU board of directors have a specific roadmap to bring the "Red Devils" back to the top position in English football.

CEO Omar Berrada and board members Sir David Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc highly appreciated the three faces mentioned above.

The task of negotiating was assigned to Technical Director Dan Ashworth, who made his mark in the recent transfer window.

Alphonso Davies and Leroy Sane are both out of contract at the end of the season. Both appear to have no intention of renewing their contracts with Bayern Munich and are looking for new experiences.

Sane has not ruled out a return to the Premier League to prove himself. Meanwhile, Davies is also a target for Real Madrid and Chelsea.

For Goretzka, his contract runs until 2026 but the door to leaving the Allianz Arena has already opened.

Coach Vincent Kompany does not include Goretzka in his plans. Moreover, the maturity of Aleksandar Pavlovic has left the 29-year-old midfielder with no place.

MU has been interested in Goretzka for a long time. The transfer fee for the former Schalke player will not be high (Bayern aims to collect about 20 million euros).

Mai Anh