Vietnam National Team Reveals Main Lineup for Second Leg Semi-Final Match Against Singapore; Supercomputer Makes Shocking Prediction About MU
Vietnam's national football team revealed the main lineup for the second leg of the semi-final against Singapore; Supercomputer predicts that MU will finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table; La Liga makes a statement like "stabbing a knife" into Barcelona... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
Vietnam National Team reveals main lineup for second leg semi-final against Singapore
With a 2-0 victory over Singapore in the first leg, the Vietnamese team is holding a big advantage to qualify for the tournament.ASEAN Cup 2024 FinalHowever, as stated by coach Kim Sang Sik in the press conference before the match at noon on December 28, the Vietnamese team still needs to be careful and cannot be subjective against Singapore.
To aim for victory, Coach Kim will certainly still field a core of key players. However, according to Bongdaplus sources, the Korean coach will likely continue to make a few small changes in personnel, to help the players have the best physical foundation to aim for the final match.
In the match at Viet Tri Stadium, the Vietnam National Team will most likely welcome the return of Nguyen Filip. The Vietnamese-American goalkeeper has not played in the last two matches of the Vietnam National Team. The home team having a good enough advantage will be an opportunity for Coach Kim to rotate and motivate Nguyen Filip.
The three central defenders of the Vietnam national team in the upcoming match will be Duy Manh, Thanh Chung and Xuan Manh. These are also the three players who played together in the second half of the first leg. The two full-backs will be Van Vi and Truong Tien Anh. In the center of midfield, Quang Hai will most likely be given a rest after playing 4 consecutive matches. Instead, Ngoc Tan will return to play alongside Hoang Duc.
On the attack line, Xuan Son continues to be the number 1 hope. Supporting the Nam Dinh striker will likely be two very energetic faces, Tuan Hai and Hai Long. This duo did not play in the last 2 matches of the Vietnam National Team.
Of course, with his “unpredictability”, Coach Kim can still change the lineup at the last minute. But basically, these will most likely be the 11 starting names of the Vietnam team in the second leg of the semi-final against Singapore at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho.
Only 2 undefeated teams remain in ASEAN Cup 2024
On the evening of December 27, in the first leg of the ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-finals, the Philippines surprisingly defeated Thailand with a score of 2-1. The victory of coach Albert Capellas and his team was decided in the 5th minute of extra time thanks to a valuable goal by center-back Kike Linares.
This is the first defeat of the Thai team in the ASEAN Cup 2024. Before that, coach Masatada Ishii and his team played very impressively in the group stage with a perfect record, scoring 18 goals and only conceding 4 goals.
Thus, after the first leg of the semi-finals, there are only two teams still maintaining their undefeated streak in the ASEAN Cup 2024: Vietnam and the Philippines.
After 5 matches in the ASEAN Cup 2024, the Vietnam team has won 4 victories against opponents Laos (4-1), Indonesia (1-0), Myanmar (5-0) and Singapore (2-0). In the remaining match, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team drew 1-1 with the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Philippines has won 2 and drawn 3 after 5 matches in the ASEAN Cup 2024 up to the end of the first leg of the semi-finals.
Vietnam currently has the best defense in the 2024 ASEAN Cup with only 2 goals conceded. Those were in the matches against Laos and the Philippines. Kim Sang Sik and his team have kept a clean sheet in 3 matches.
The team with the second best defense in the ASEAN Cup 2024 is the Philippines. After 5 matches, Albert Capellas' team has only conceded 4 goals. Meanwhile, Thailand has conceded 6 goals in this year's tournament.
The Vietnamese team can completely extend their unbeaten streak in the ASEAN Cup 2024 to 6 matches because today (December 29), Kim Sang-sik and his team will face Singapore again at Viet Tri Stadium. With the support of the home crowd and the excited spirit, the Vietnamese team can completely win another victory.
Six years ago, at the ASEAN Cup 2018, the Vietnam national team won the championship with an undefeated record under coach Park Hang Seo (6 wins, 2 draws). This was also the only tournament in which Vietnam did not lose throughout the entire tournament.
Supercomputer makes shocking prediction about MU
Manchester United will finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table at the end of this season, according to statistics analysts Opta. Manchester United have endured a poor season and suffered a disastrous 2-0 defeat to Wolves on Boxing Day. Ruben Amorim has struggled to turn things around since replacing Erik ten Hag as United manager, with his side currently 14th in the Premier League.
United are just eight points above the relegation zone, with their upcoming match against Newcastle - who are chasing a top-four finish in the Premier League - seen as a potential disaster. Amorim has had a difficult start to his time at United, winning just two Premier League games.
Amorim has also seen United lose four games and has even been questioned about the possibility of his team being dragged into a relegation battle. While at first glance these questions may seem absurd for a club like United, a deeper analysis shows that the “Red Devils” have reason to be worried.
According to a new supercomputer from Opta, Manchester United are more likely to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Opta simulated 10,000 matches to see where Manchester United would finish. After those simulations, Opta's supercomputer predicted that Manchester United's most likely position was 12th, with a 13.7% chance, and Manchester United's second most likely position was 13th, with a 13.3% chance.
Even the most likely third place would see United in the bottom half of the table, with 11th place being a 13.1% chance. United's chances of finishing 10th in the Premier League are just 11.2%, while a ninth-place finish is 9.6%.
Even worse, the supercomputer predicts that United have just a 0.5% chance of finishing in the Premier League's top four, which is the same as finishing 17th.
La Liga issued a statement like a "knife stab" into Barcelona
Dani Olmo will not be allowed to play for Barcelona after 1 January 2025 after a court dismissed the club's appeal over La Liga's salary cap rules. La Liga has welcomed the Catalan court's decision to dismiss Barcelona's appeal over Dani Olmo and Pau Victor's bans from playing for the club after 1 January 2025.
Dani Olmo, a key member of Spain’s Euro 2024 winning squad, signed for Barcelona from RB Leipzig in the summer for around £51m. But with Barcelona unable to meet the La Liga wage cap to comply with Financial Fair Play rules, Olmo only played for Barca for the first four months of the season. Victor, 23, is in a similar situation.
Barca had registered Olmo on a temporary basis due to Andreas Christensen's long-term injury. But now Olmo will not be allowed to play for Barca from 1 January 2025 after the Catalan Court rejected their appeal.
And La Liga issued a statement like a "stabbing knife", rubbing salt into Barcelona's wound: "Today, La Liga learned of the ruling rejecting the request to register Dani Olmo for provisional competition until June 30, 2025, on the grounds that Barcelona cannot meet the necessary conditions to continue applying the provisional competition order".
The ruling also stressed that: “The purpose of allowing player additions is to ensure that long-term injuries of players do not undermine the competitiveness of the team, not to exploit long-term injuries to allow the registration of players whose salaries exceed the limit, which is what FC Barcelona is trying to do.”
Barca still have another chance to appeal at a lower court and the hearing is expected to take place next Monday, a day before the deadline to register squads for the remainder of this season's La Liga campaign.
Ronaldo causes controversy when comparing Saudi Pro League with Ligue 1
At the 2024 Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, C. Ronaldo received the title of “Best Player in the Middle East”. The former Man United star was awarded for his extraordinary achievements in the Saudi Arabian league for his club, and also for breaking the 900-goal mark in his career (916 goals).
At the awards ceremony, the Portuguese striker caused controversy when he compared the quality of Ligue 1 and the Saudi Pro League. According to the former Man United star, Ligue 1 – where Lionel Messi used to play for PSG – cannot be compared to the Saudi Pro League in terms of competition and difficulty.
“The Saudi Pro League is of course better than Ligue 1,” C. Ronaldo affirmed. “In France, there is only PSG. The rest cannot compete. Try sprinting in 38, 39, 40 degree weather and scoring a goal.”
Ronaldo stressed that the Saudi Pro League is more competitive than Ligue 1 – France’s top flight. In Ligue 1, PSG are virtually unrivalled, having won the title 10 times in the last 12 seasons thanks to the deep pockets of their Middle Eastern owners.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, many strong clubs such as Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad Al-Nassr, are constantly competing fiercely: "Come here and you will see. If you don't believe me, try the experience. In Saudi Arabia, it is very difficult to become a champion. Al-Hilal is playing well, Al-Ittihad is leading the tournament. We have to try our best to win the championship," the Portuguese striker analyzed.
Ronaldo believes that the Saudi Pro League will soon reach the world level in the future: “Step by step, we will reach the highest level. I think this tournament will be in the top 3 or 4 in the world.