Vietnam secures spot in Group 2 of 2022 World Cup qualifiers; Real Madrid successfully recruits Hazard
(Baonghean.vn) - Coach Park Hang-seo and his team tied Curacao 1-1 in the two official matches, but lost 4-5 on penalties on the evening of June 8, while Eden Hazard was confirmed to have returned to Real with a total transfer fee of up to 190 million USD.
Vietnam finished second in King's Cup
After the friendly tournament in Thailand, Park Hang-seo and his team accumulated 5.2 more points, according to estimates from Football-rankings. Of which, 4.5 points were earned from the win over Thailand, and 0.7 points were earned after losing to Curacao in the penalty shootout.
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| Quang Hai and his teammates competed successfully at the Kings Cup, winning runner-up. Photo: Anh Khoa. |
At the draw for the second round of the 2022 World Cup Asian qualifiers in Qatar on July 17, there will be five groups of teams arranged based on their FIFA rankings in July 2019. The first group includes the top 8 teams in Asia, while the second group includes the remaining 8 teams from the top 16. Similarly, the teams ranked 17 to 24 are in group three, while the 25 to 32nd are in group four. Group five includes the 33rd, 34th and 6 teams that passed the first qualifying round.
The 40 teams in the second qualifying round are divided equally into eight groups, so that teams in the same group are not in the same group. Being in pot two, Vietnam avoids the risk of meeting the strong teams in the group including Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan (or Palestine). The teams in the same group play a double round-robin from September 2019 to June 2020. The eight group winners and four second-placed teams with the best results will advance to the third qualifying round. Vietnam has never reached the third qualifying round of the World Cup, but Coach Park is determined to make history.
Expected grouping in the second qualifying round
Group 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China
Group 2: Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, Jordan (or Palestine)
Group 3: Palestine (or Jordan), India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Philippines, Taiwan
Group 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Indonesia (or Singapore)
Pot 5: Singapore (or Indonesia), Nepal and the 6 teams that passed the first round
Hazard wears number 7 shirt at Real
Real Madrid's homepage posted a photo of Eden Hazard in the Belgian national team jersey, with the headline: "Hazard, Real's new recruit". In the article, the Bernabeu owner briefly reviewed the Belgian star's career, emphasizing that he had won the Premier League twice, won 2 Europa Leagues, and won an FA Cup during his time at Chelsea.
"Hazard was one of the factors that helped Belgium play successfully and win the Bronze Medal at the 2018 World Cup. He was the star of the tournament, with a performance second only to Luka Modric," the introduction said.
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| Hazard will wear the number 7 shirt at Real. |
According to BBC, Eden Hazard's total transfer fee could be up to 190 million USD, of which 112 million USD will be paid immediately. The rest will be paid gradually by "Los Blancos" depending on the Belgian star's contribution and performance.
Hazard's contract with Real is for five years. The Guardian added that the former Chelsea player's weekly salary is $510,000. Real's new signing becomes the club's highest earner, surpassing Gareth Bale ($445,000 a week).
Hazard is Real's third new signing of the 2019-2020 season, after Eder Militao and Luka Jovic. Many Spanish newspapers such as Marca, AS or Mundo Deportivo believe that the Bernabeu's shopping campaign has not stopped as Kylian Mbappe is still in their sights.
