Why did coach Park Hang-seo keep Dinh Trong?; Cong Phuong debuted at a new club

The reason why coach Park Hang-seoyesDinh Trohng

The 1997-born central defender was retained by coach Park Hang-seo at the last minute after his name was removed from the preliminary registration list with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to participate in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship. This is an opportunity for Dinh Trong to regain his position after recovering from injury.

According to research, Coach Park was at times dissatisfied with Dinh Trong's injury treatment. The Hanoi FC midfielder suffered a serious injury in a match against HAGL in the 2019 V-League and had to go to Korea for surgery. A source close to Mr. Park said that during the treatment period, Dinh Trong was judged to be unfocused and not trying hard. Combined with Dinh Trong's long absence from competition, Mr. Park was quite hesitant about his situation.

Dinh Trong was cleverly "reminded" by coach Park Hang-seo when he was removed from the preliminary registration list, helping him focus more on training. Photo: HUU PHAM

Being retained to participate in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship will be an opportunity for Dinh Trong to regain his form and position in the national teams. This is not an easy goal when in the hands of Mr. Park, defenders such as Tan Sinh, Thanh Chung or Duc Chien have all shown progress and are playing steadily.

Cong Phuong debuts at Ho Chi Minh City Club

Striker Nguyen Cong Phuong officially became a member of Ho Chi Minh City Club after the introduction ceremony took place at the club's headquarters yesterday (January 6).

Cong Phuong returned home on New Year's Day (January 1), after completing the procedures to say goodbye to Belgian club Sint Truiden. Over the past week, he has spent time resting and meeting relatives and friends. After the introduction ceremony, Cong Phuong is expected to start training with his new teammates from today, January 7.

Cong Phuong debuted for Ho Chi Minh City Club.

Jordan U23 coach highly appreciates Vietnam U23

A few hours after U23 Vietnam had their first training session in Buriram, U23 Jordan, the second opponent of Coach Park Hang-seo and his team in Group D, had their next training session on the same field. Sharing with the press, head coach Ahmed Abu Ismail of U23 Jordan highly appreciated his opponent Vietnam.

Mr. Ahmed Abu Ismail affirmed: “I see that U23 Vietnam is a very strong team in all three lines, forwards, midfielders and defenders, especially the midfield. This is an area that concentrates many versatile, technical and solid players.”

Jordan U23 coach Ahmed Abu Ismail highly appreciates Vietnam. Photo: Minh Chien.

AFC believes U23 Vietnam's opening match is among the most worth-watching

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recently gave its assessment of the 5 most worth-watching opening matches at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship, including Vietnam.

In addition to the Vietnam vs UAE match, the other four matches listed by AFC are: Thailand vs Bahrain; China vs Uzbekistan; Qatar vs Japan; Uzbekistan vs South Korea.

U23 Vietnam is in the top 5 most worth-watching opening matches at the 2020 AFC U23 Championship. (Illustration photo)

"Unlike 2018, Vietnam will enter this tournament with admiration, facing UAE in their first match. The match will be closely watched to see how Quang Hai and his teammates overcome the pressure," the AFC article emphasized.

Lukaku scored twice, Inter broke the 23-year streak of not winning at San Paolo

Romelu Lukaku's impressive performance helped Inter beat Napoli 3-1 in round 18 of Serie A on the morning of January 7 (Hanoi time).

Illustration photo.