Vietnam in Group 2 of World Cup Qualifiers; Portugal crowned Nations League champion; Nadal 12-time champion

Vietnam group 2, Thailand group 3 World Cup qualifiers

It is expected that in the latest FIFA rankings, Vietnamese football will reach 1,232 points and increase from 98th to 97th in the world, and rank 15th in Asia.

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 the latest FIFA rankings. Accordingly, the first group includes the eight teams from the top 8 in Asia, while the second group includes the remaining eight teams from the top 16. Similarly, the teams ranked 17 to 24 are in group 3, while the 25 to 32 are in group 4. Group 5 includes the 33rd, 34th and six teams that passed the first qualifying round.

Vietnam has the advantage of being in group 2, while Thailand is down to group 3. Photo: TRAM ANH

By being in group 2, the Vietnamese team in the World Cup qualifiers will avoid the risk of meeting strong teams in the group including Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan (or Palestine).

The expected grouping in the second qualifying round according to Asian press is as follows:

Group 1:Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China.

Group 2:Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, VN, Jordan (or Palestine).

Group 3:Palestine (or Jordan), India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, DPRK, Philippines, Taiwan.

Group 4:Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Indonesia (or Singapore).

Group 5:Singapore (or Indonesia), Nepal and the six teams that qualified from the first round.

Defeating the Netherlands, Portugal was crowned champion at Nations League

In the 2018/2019 Nations League final, Portugal faced the Netherlands at the Estadio do Dragao. Playing at home, the Portuguese national team confidently pushed up their squad and pressured the “Orange Storm”.

And after only 10 minutes of the first half, the Netherlands gradually regained control of the game and both teams played "tit for tat". However, the attacks of Portugal and the Netherlands only stopped at the level of opportunities.

In the final minutes of the first half, coach Fernando Santos' team continuously increased the pressure on the Netherlands. However, the shots of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Goncalo Guedes on the Portuguese side were not dangerous enough to defeat the Netherlands' defense as well as goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen. The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

Portugal had a deserved victory over the Netherlands, thereby winning the 2018/2019 Nations League. (Photo: Getty)

After many efforts, in the 60th minute, Portugal opened the scoring thanks to Goncalo Guedes after a delicate assist from Bernardo Silva, 1-0 in favor of coach Fernando Santos' team.

The final minutes of the match were exciting as both teams increased the pace of the match and played “tit for tat”. The match ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of the Portuguese team, thereby helping coach Fernando Santos’ team step up to the highest podium of the 2018/2019 Nations League./.

Liverpool shocked by De Ligt's demands

According to Daily Mail, De Ligt is currently receiving many attractive offers from MU and Paris SG. While MU is willing to pay 236 thousand pounds/week for the 19-year-old Dutch midfielder, Paris SG offers a higher salary, up to 256 thousand pounds/week. However, both of these offers have not satisfied De Ligt.

Matthijs de Ligt.

With any of the above salaries, De Ligt will become Liverpool's highest-paid player. The player with the highest income at Anfield is Mohamed Salah, who only earns 200,000 pounds/week. Meanwhile, the best center-back in the Premier League, Van Dijk, only earns 150,000 pounds/week from Liverpool.

Liverpool are unlikely to convince De Ligt to take a pay cut, especially since the centre-back's agent is Mino Raiola, a "super agent" famous for forcing clubs to pay higher prices.

Therefore, Liverpool will likely soon ignore De Ligt, because they cannot pay a young rookie higher than the team's top stars. Liverpool of course also does not want to increase the salaries of a series of players just because of De Ligt.

Nadal - the first tennis player in history to win a tournament 12 times

The 2019 French Open men's singles final was between Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. Nadal won the title.

After a difficult start to the clay season, Nadal has bounced back with back-to-back titles in Rome and the French Open. Winning a 12th Grand Slam on red is an extraordinary feat for a single player.

Successfully defending his title and once again defeating Thiem in the final, the "King of Clay" still refuses to give up the throne to the "Prince of Clay".

Successfully defending his title and once again defeating Thiem in the final, the "King of Clay" still refuses to yield the throne to the "Prince of Clay". Nadal's victory over Thiem also avenged his loss in the semi-finals of the tournament in his home country (Barcelona) more than a month ago.

He became the third oldest player to win the French Open after Andres Gimeno (34 years old, 1972) and Ken Rosewall (33 years old, 1968).

He became the first player in history to win a tournament 12 times, especially at a Grand Slam. Nadal won all 12 finals at the French Open, bringing his record at the tournament to 93 wins, 2 losses, achieving a winning percentage of nearly 98%.