Vietnam team meets 'nemesis' in match with China; International press praises Tien Linh

Vietnam team meets "nemesis" in match with China

After losing to Saudi Arabia and Australia in the September matches, the Vietnamese team has yet to score any points and is currently second to last in Group B of the final qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in Asia.

Therefore, the match against the Chinese team on October 8 is of special importance to coach Park Hang-seo and his team. In addition to paying attention to the immediate opponent, fansVietnam teamAlso pay attention to the identity of the referee who will officiate the upcoming match.

Previously, in the two defeats against Saudi Arabia and Australia, Mr. Park and his team received unfavorable decisions from the referees. According to the latest announcement from AFC, the main referee in charge of the match between Vietnam and China is Mr. Mohammed Abdulla Hassan and two assistants Mohamed Ahmed Yousef Hamadi and Hassan Mohamed Mahri. In addition, referees Amar Ali Juma Janabi and Omar Mohamed Hassan Ali will be the ones directly operating the VAR room.

Referee Abdullah Hassan will officiate the match between Vietnam and China.

At the U20 World Cup, Quang Hai and his teammates lost 0-2 to U20 Homduras in a match refereed by Abdulla Hassan. Then, at the 2014 U19 Asian Cup, U19 Vietnam also suffered a 0-6 defeat to U19 Korea when the UAE referee was in charge.

In addition, this “man in black” was also the one who awarded Japan a penalty kick, causing Vietnam to lose 0-1 to Asia’s number 1 team at the 2019 Asian Cup. According to the schedule, Vietnam will have a match with China at 0:00 on October 8 in the UAE.

Coach Hoang Van Phuc: 'Vietnam team is capable of defeating China'

Coach Hoang Van Phuc recalled the memory of the match where Vietnam U16 won against China in the 2010 youth tournament to cheer on Park Hang-seo and his team in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

“Vietnam U16 won against China not once but twice at the 2010 Southeast Asian U16 tournament. That was a memorable moment in my coaching career,” coach Hoang Van Phuc shared with Zing.

Nearly 11 years ago, after qualifying for the 2010 U16 Asian Cup, Vietnam U16, under the guidance of head coach Hoang Van Phuc, participated in the U16 Southeast Asian Open Tournament. The tournament had 4 teams, including U16 Vietnam, Indonesia, Timor Leste and U16 China, playing in a round-robin format before being ranked for the final and the third-place match.

Dang Anh Tuan scored against U16 China in 2010. He was called up by coach Park Hang-seo to the Vietnam national team in 2019 to prepare for the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. Photo: Minh Chien

“The players were excited before the opening match against U16 China. Back then, information was not as easy to find as it is now, so I told them to respect their opponents.”

“We started the game slowly, playing defensive counter-attacks in the first half. When the second half came, we saw that our opponents were showing signs of fatigue, so the coaching staff instructed us to increase the speed and Dang Anh Tuan scored a goal,” coach Hoang Van Phuc recounted.

“The Chinese team is not absolutely strong, on the contrary, they also have weaknesses. We have a slight advantage because most of the opposing team is over 30 years old, so they may lose strength in the second half. I believe in a victory for the Vietnamese team, if we play reasonably, with determination and a little luck,” coach Hoang Van Phuc told Zing.

International newspapers praise striker Nguyen Tien Linh

PlayerNguyen Tien Linhwas selected by AFC as the outstanding player of the Vietnam team at AFC Asian Qualifiers-Road to Qatar (3rd qualifying round of World Cup-Asian region).

On the homepage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), there was an article about the most prominent faces of the 6 teams in Group B before the 3rd match of the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia, in which, the Vietnamese player mentioned was Nguyen Tien Linh, who scored 5 goals in the 2022 World Cup qualifying round in Asia.

Player Nguyen Tien Linh. Photo: VNA

AFC commented: Striker Nguyen Tien Linh of Becamex Binh Duong was the main scorer of the Vietnamese team in the previous round. The 23-year-old player is still the spearhead of this team's attack in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Asia.

Commenting on the match between Vietnam and China, AFC wrote: Facing the Chinese team, who have conceded 4 goals in 2 matches, will be an opportunity for Tien Linh to find a goal. Supported by talented midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai, Tien Linh will be eager to find the feeling of scoring and help the Vietnamese team win a historic victory.

Manchester City's most valuable squad in the world

The International Center for Football Studies (CIES) has just compiled statistics on the teams with the largest squad value. In the summer of 2021, Manchester United made a huge leap in transfers when they brought in Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo. The Red Devils' squad value thereby increased to 1.214 billion euros, ranking 2nd.

Top 10 most valuable football teams in the world.

Topping the list is Manchester City with a total squad value of 1.28 billion euros. In the last summer transfer window, Manchester City attracted attention when they spent 118 million euros to bring in Jack Grealish. In third place is Chelsea, the team that bought Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for 100 million euros in the summer transfer window. Chelsea's total squad value is 946 million euros.