Vietnam team drops 3 places in FIFA rankings in October; Former Hoang Anh Gia Lai star loses hope of participating in AFF Cup 2024

Former Hoang Anh Gia Lai star has no hope of participating in AFF Cup 2024

A recent source confirmed that midfielder Trieu Viet Hung suffered a serious injury in the match between Hai Phong Club and Binh Duong in round 2 of V-League 2024/2025.

After examination, doctors concluded that Trieu Viet Hung had damaged his lateral ligament and would have to rest for 3-4 months.

This also means that the former starHoang Anh Gia Laino longer have hope of participating in the AFF Cup 2024, the tournament is scheduled to take place in December 2024.

Before suffering a ligament injury, Viet Hung played quite impressively for Hai Phong Club and was said to be on the watch list of the Korean coach.

The player born in 1997 has a strong position as a central midfielder. He has impressive ball control ability based on good personal technique.

Indonesia denies sending only U22 team to play against Vietnam

The Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) denied the information that it only sent the U22 team, affirming that coach Shin Tae-yong can choose the squad he wants to compete in the 2024 ASEAN Cup, where they are in the same group withVietnam team.

"PSSI will not interfere in which team or squad will be used to participate in the ASEAN Cup 2024. We will provide players according to coach Shin Tae-yong's request," Mr. Arya Sinulingga - Member of the PSSI Executive Board affirmed on October 25.

ASEAN Cup 2024 will take place from December 8 to January 5, 2025, in which Indonesia is in Group B and will compete with Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines, and Laos for 2 tickets to the semi-finals.

Previously, there was information that PSSI planned to send only the U22 team to the tournament. The reason is that the tournament is not part of the official FIFA competition system, so more than 10 naturalized players in the Indonesian national team will not be able to participate without permission from their home clubs. On the other hand, some opinions said that the national players should focus on the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, while giving the opportunity to participate in the ASEAN Cup to young players.

However, with the affirmation from the PSSI representative, Indonesia will definitely use the best possible squad at the ASEAN Cup 2024 to aim for the first championship, after 6 consecutive losses in the final.

V-League giant recruits coach who once worked with Liverpool's number 1 star

Viettel The Cong Club recently announced the signing of a contract with Portuguese fitness expert - Francisco Bruto Da Costa.

Notably, Mr. Francisco Bruto Da Costa once worked with the Egyptian national team and directly supported Mohamed Salah - the star currently playing for Liverpool.

Regarding this, Viettel The Cong Club said: “The Portuguese expert has many years of experience in Asian football, having worked with the Malaysian team and clubs in Bangladesh and India. Fitness coach Francisco also worked directly with Mohamed Salah during his time as technical assistant of the Egyptian team from 2021 to 2022. During this period, he contributed to helping Salah and his teammates reach the final of the 2021 African Championship.”

With the support of the Portuguese expert, the physical strength of Viettel The Cong players promises to be significantly improved.

Besides, Mr. Francisco Bruto Da Costa is also a technical analyst, assistant and even had 2 periods as head coach when leading U16 India (2016) and East Bengal Club (2020).

Vietnam team drops 3 places in FIFA rankings in October

According to the October 2024 rankings just announced by FIFA, the Vietnamese team dropped 3 places compared to last month and ranked 119th in the world.

During the FIFA Days in October, the Vietnamese team only had one friendly match with the Indian team at Thien Truong Stadium, Nam Dinh. The draw against an opponent ranked lower on the FIFA Ranking caused the Vietnamese team to lose 0.2 points and directly affected their ranking on the rankings.

This is really a significant step backwards, because at the end of 2023, the Vietnamese team is ranked No. 1 in Southeast Asia, 15th in Asia and 94th in the world.

In Southeast Asia, the Thai team continued to advance after winning the 2024 King's Cup with 8.69 points added thanks to two victories over the Philippines and Syria, thereby rising to 96th place in the world.

According to FIFA statistics, a total of 175 international matches took place in October, of which Comoros and Sudan were the two teams with the strongest progress, up 10 places compared to the previous month./.