Van Duc was among the top 4 best players in the first leg of the 2018 AFF Cup semi-finals.

Phan Văn Đức is one of the four best players of the first half of the season.

Unexpectedly selected to start against the Philippines, Phan Văn Đức proved that coach Park Hang-seo was absolutely right to place his trust in this striker.

Phan Văn Đức was voted Man of the Match by the AFF website in Vietnam's victory over the Philippines. The 22-year-old striker from Nghe An province was further honored by Fox Sport Asia, being selected as one of the four best players in the first leg of the 2018 AFF Cup semi-finals.

Besides Van Duc, Fox Sport Asia also selected three other outstanding players: Syamer Kutty Abba (Malaysia), Mika Chunuonsee (Thailand), and Phil Younghusband of the Philippines. Meanwhile, Tan Cheng Hoe was chosen as the best coach of the first leg of the 2018 AFF Cup semi-finals for his sound tactics that helped Malaysia completely dominate title contender Thailand at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Coach Park Hang-seo gives bonuses to his players.

After nearly a week of training and competing abroad, the Vietnamese national team landed at Noi Bai Airport on the afternoon of December 3rd. Initially, coach Park Hang-seo wanted the players to train that afternoon, but later reversed his decision and allowed everyone to rest completely.

The players are free to move around until they return to training this afternoon (December 4th) at My Dinh Stadium. This can be considered a well-deserved reward for the efforts the players have put in over the past few days.

The unusual rule in the AFF Cup semi-finals has left some happy and others worried.

Southeast Asia's premier tournament is intriguing not only for its home and away format in the group stage, but also for the rules that make the knockout rounds even more exciting.

From the semi-finals onwards, a two-legged format is applied. Unless there are improvements, teams playing the second leg at home always have an advantage because they benefit from 30 minutes of extra time if the aggregate score after 90 minutes of the second leg is still a draw. This is something that teams playing at home in the first leg cannot achieve. Thailand, after drawing 0-0 with Malaysia away, seemed satisfied precisely because of this. They only need to win against the "Malay Tigers," by any score, to advance.

Therefore, to be fairer to teams playing the second leg away from home, the AFF Cup organizers added a detail to Article 7, Clause 3, which states: “If the aggregate score after two legs, at the end of the 90 minutes of the second leg, is a draw, the team that scored more away goals advances. If both teams have scored the same number of away goals, the match will have two extra time periods, each 15 minutes long. In extra time, if neither team scores, a penalty shootout will take place. If both teams score the same number of goals, the away team's number of goals will be doubled.”

This is what worries Thailand, even though they are playing at home in the second leg. If Thailand and Malaysia each score one goal in extra time, according to the previous rules, the two teams will go to a penalty shootout. However, in the 2018 AFF Cup, Thailand would be eliminated.

Southampton sacked manager after draw with Manchester United.

Southampton have just decided to sack manager Mark Hughes, despite only signing a three-year contract with him in May. The decision came immediately after Southampton's 2-2 draw with Manchester United, which saw the team drop to 18th place in the Premier League table. Under Hughes' leadership, Southampton had only won 5 out of 27 matches. Assistant coach Kelvin Davis is currently in charge temporarily while Southampton search for a new manager. Former RB Leipzig manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is reportedly being considered by the English club.

Klopp fined for his crazy celebration.

Divock Origi's late goal in the 90+6th minute of injury time sent Anfield into a frenzy, securing three points for Liverpool against Everton in a dramatic Merseyside derby. Unable to hide his joy, manager Juergen Klopp rushed onto the pitch to embrace goalkeeper Alisson Becker in celebration before the final whistle.

Immediately after the match, Klopp apologized for his actions in a press conference. However, the English Football Association (FA) still decided to punish Klopp as a deterrent. The deadline for Klopp to appeal is 6:00 PM on December 6th (UK time).

Chelsea "ties down" key player.

According to Goal, The Blues have successfully persuaded right-back Cesar Azpilicueta to extend his contract. The Spanish star will remain at Stamford Bridge until at least 2022 and will receive a salary of £150,000 per week, an increase of £30,000 per week compared to his previous agreement.

VAR will be used from the Round of 16 of the Champions League.

The European Football Association (EUFA) has confirmed that VAR will be used from the knockout rounds of this year's Champions League. UEFA President Ceferin said: "We are ready to use VAR sooner than initially planned and we believe it will benefit the matches, support the referees and minimize erroneous decisions."

Modric won the 2018 Ballon d'Or.

Similar to FIFA's The Best award, Modric's Ballon d'Or win ended a decade-long dominance by Ronaldo and Messi. This award was given for his achievements in helping Real Madrid win their third consecutive Champions League title and leading Croatia to the World Cup final.

Winning the Ballon d'Or also capped off a year full of personal glory for Modric. Prior to that, he had won the Best Player of the World Cup, the UEFA Player of the Year award, and The Best award.

This year, France Football magazineFor the first time, the Ballon d'Or was awarded to a women's player. And the winner was Ada Hegerberg, the Norwegian star who helped Lyon win the European Championship last season. To win, Hegerberg had to overcome a series of strong competitors such as Pernille Harder, teammate Dzsenifer Marozsan, Marta and Sam Kerr.

Mbappe wins Kopa Trophy for best U21 player in the world.

Nineteen-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe has surpassed a host of promising young talents to become the first winner of the Kopa Trophy, presented by France Football.

This is the first time France Football has awarded the Kopa Trophy to the best player under 21 of the year. The award is named after the late legendary Raymond Kopa, a former Real Madrid and France national team midfielder who passed away last year at the age of 85.

However, even before former football legend David Ginola announced the first winner of the Kopa Trophy at the Gala in Paris on the morning of December 4th, most people had already guessed that it could only be Kylian Mbappe. Simply because what Mbappe achieved in 2018 was a lifelong dream for many of the world's top players. And in fact, he won with a majority of the votes, 55%.

MU bought Verratti to replace Pogba.

Manager Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba once again clashed after the 2-2 draw with Southampton.

Pogba's attitude has displeased Mourinho and the Manchester United board. The Red Devils are ready to sell the French player to "clean up" the squad.

Not only is Verratti capable of winning tackles, but he is also a very good playmaker. To get Verratti from PSG, MU will certainly have to spend no less than £70 million.

American prodigy "expresses his love" for Liverpool.

According to the Evening Standard, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic would prefer a move to Liverpool over Chelsea if he were to leave the German club. Borussia Dortmund are reportedly seeking up to £70 million for the 20-year-old player.