Vietnam team can be compared with Asian Cup champion; Mourinho receives 1 year prison sentence

FIFA: "Vietnam most improved in Asian Cup"

FIFA's homepage believes that Park Hang-seo and his team's achievement in reaching the quarterfinals can be compared to the champion Qatar.

"Along with Qatar, Vietnam are probably the most improved team in the tournament in the UAE," the article on the FIFA website said. "With the core of the team that won the U23 Asian Cup runner-up, Vietnam impressed both technically and tactically. Japan had to do everything to overcome Vietnam 1-0 in the quarter-finals."

Coach Park helped Vietnam become the only Southeast Asian representative to enter the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup, as the Philippines were eliminated in the group stage and Thailand stopped in the round of 16. The penalty shootout victory over Jordan in the round of 16 helped Vietnam enter the top 8 strongest teams of the continental tournament for the second time. In the quarter-finals, Vietnam made Japan sweat before scoring a penalty thanks to VAR.

Vietnam's achievements were beyond the calculations of famous player Xavi - who correctly predicted seven out of eight teams to enter the quarter-finals.

Dang Van Lam will debut for Muangthong United tomorrow

At 8am yesterday morning (February 5), the Vietnamese-Russian goalkeeper arrived at the Bangkok Sports Medicine Center (BASEM), affiliated with Bangkok Hospital, for a medical examination. There, Van Lam underwent a number of tests, including blood type, bone and muscle tests, and a full body X-ray.

Van Lam was the hero in the 11m penalty shootout, opening the door to the quarter-finals for the Vietnamese national team.

"The test results show that this player is in perfect physical condition, has no injuries, and is ready to play for Muangthong,"Siamsportquoted Dr. Pornthep Maemmanee, a leading expert in anatomy and sports medicine in Thailand.

After the results were announced in the early afternoon, Muangthong announced that they would hold a ceremony to introduce Van Lam at a press conference at SCG Stadium at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 7, Hanoi time.

Mourinho sentenced to 1 year in prison for tax evasion

Coach Jose Mourinho continues to go through difficult days, having just been fired by MU and now facing a court ruling.

On February 5, a Spanish court sentenced Mourinho to one year in prison for tax evasion in 2011 and 2012.

Mourinho evaded a total of 3.3 million euros in taxes while he was still managing Real Madrid.In the court's ruling, in addition to paying 3.3 million euros to the tax authorities, Mourinho also had to pay a fine of 2.2 million euros.

In 2004, Mourinho signed an image rights deal with Koper Services, based in the Virgin Islands - to hide advertising income.It is part of a large business network, linked to three other companies in Iceland - considered tax havens.

Mourinho's lawyers and the authorities also agreed to pay the fine to avoid jail time.Accordingly, the total amount that Mourinho had to pay to avoid jail time was more than 180,000 euros.

MU spends money to sign Harry Kane to replace Lukaku

Don Balon reported that MU is plotting a shock transfer, bringing England and Tottenham captain Harry Kane to Old Trafford to replace Romelu Lukaku.

Harry Kane is a bold target for MU, and the striker with 180 goals in his career (at club and national team level) is also being targeted by Real Madrid to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, Real are now said to be interested in Lukaku. Although he has not been in good form in his second season at MU, the Belgian striker can fill the void left by Ronaldo at Bernabeu, while Benzema also needs to be replaced soon.

And once Lukaku is sold, United understand that Harry Kane is the perfect upgrade after his impressive form in the Premier League in recent years.

Hazard has decided his future

Eden Hazard has said he has made a final decision on his future. The Belgian star has been frequently linked with Real Madrid while he has only one year left on his contract with Chelsea. Hazard has yet to agree a new contract and Spanish media have reported that he is waiting to join Real. This season Hazard continues to play a key role for Chelsea with 12 goals and 10 assists for the team so far in the Premier League. "I have decided my future and know what I need to do," Hazard said without specifying his choice.

Dortmund painfully eliminated in the third round of the German National Cup

In the third round of the German Cup, Dortmund was surprisingly eliminated by Werder Bremen after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.

Despite still having a series of formidable players such as Marco Reus, Christian Pulisic, Axel Witsel and Mario Goetze, the team from Rurh had to accept a goal in the 5th minute. Milot Rashica was the one who opened the score for the away team.

It was not until the last official minute of the first half that Reus was able to bring home the equalizer for the home team.

German Cup Round 3 Results

Hamburg 1-0 Nuremberg

Heidenheim 2-1 Bayern Leverkusen

MSV Duisburg 1-3 Paderborn

Dortmund 3-3 Bremen (penalty: 2-4)

The two teams entered 2 extra periods and unexpected developments occurred continuously. Dortmund was the team to take the lead when Pulisic increased the score to 2-1 in the 105th minute. But just 3 minutes later, Claudio Pizarro equalized 2-2. In the 113th minute, Achraf Hakimi once again helped Dortmund take the lead. But with only 1 minute left, Martin Harnik equalized 3-3 for Bremen.

The match had to be decided by a penalty shootout. Dortmund lost 2-4 on penalties and bitterly conceded the right to continue to Bremen.