The National U19 Finals promises to be dramatic; Real Madrid beat Man City in the 90+2 minute
On February 15, the 2024/2025 National U19 Championship Finals will officially kick off in Ba Ria City; Host Man City led until the 85th minute but still let Real Madrid come back. Those are the outstanding sports news in the past 24 hours.
The National U19 Finals Championship race promises to be dramatic
February 15, Final Round of the TournamentThe 2024/2025 National U19 Championship will officially kick off in Ba Ria City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. This year's tournament is expected to be exciting with exciting competitions between the best youth teams in the country.
After 10 qualifying rounds, 12 teams participating in the Final Round have been determined. Group A includes the host team Ba Ria-Vung Tau, SHB Da Nang, Hanoi FC and Becamex Binh Duong. Group B has the presence of Dong Thap, Dong Nai, PVF and The Cong Viettel. Group C is a competition between Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Phuoc, Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Song Lam Nghe An.
The defending champions Hanoi FC will face many challenges right from the group stage. The home team Ba Ria-Vung Tau has a balanced squad and extensive experience having competed in many youth tournaments.
Group B witnessed fierce competition when PVF and The Cong Viettel were both strong candidates for the throne.
In Group C, Song Lam Nghe An is highly regarded for its talented young players. Their most formidable opponent is Hong Linh Ha Tinh, a team with a quality squad and a competitive playing style. If they play to their full potential, Song Lam Nghe An has a good chance of advancing to the next round when they only have to face Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Phuoc.
Why did Sergio Ramos accept to play in Mexico?
More than 30,000 enthusiastic fans were present at Gigante de Acero, Monterrey's home stadium, to witness the grand unveiling of Sergio Ra mos on Sunday (February 9).
The 38-year-old centre-back - a 2010 World Cup winner, two-time European champion (2008, 2012), four-time Champions League winner with a total of 982 appearances, scoring 142 goals in his career - has officially joined Mexico's Liga MX. He will wear the number 93 shirt, in memory of the magical moment when he scored the goal that helped Real Madrid win the Champions League "Decima" (for the 10th time) in the final in Lisbon against arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in 2014.
Real Madrid beat Man City in the 90+2 minute
In the early morning of February 12, home team Man City led until the 85th minute but still let Real Madrid come back, winning 3-2 in the first leg of the play-off for a ticket to the round of 16 of the Champions League.
In the 14th minute, the Etihad Stadium exploded when Erling Haaland scored from close range, after Josko Gvardiol had made a wall with his chest. The referee team took a few minutes to carefully consider and measure before awarding the goal to the Premier League representative.
After escaping defeat, Real quickly regrouped to put pressure back on the ball. The La Liga team's continuous attacks were rewarded with an equalizer in the 60th minute.
Real wasted chances and paid the price for their defensive errors. In the 77th minute, Dani Ceballos fouled Phil Foden, leading to a penalty. From the 11m mark, Haaland easily fooled Courtois with a low shot into the far left corner.
With only 3 minutes of extra time in the second half, fans were already thinking about a draw. But in the 90+2 minute, Real Madrid still managed to score a third goal, sealing a 3-2 victory for "Los Blancos".
Coach Kim Sang-sik tests new faces
Coach Kim Sang-sik may give many new faces a chance to join the Vietnamese national team in the March training session, preparing to play Laos in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
With most of the young faces of the U22 generation participating in the U22 Four-Heroes tournament in China, along with the absence of Xuan Son, Tan Tai, Van Toan and most recently the injury of Cong Phuong, this is an opportunity for the players who are in good form in the V-League.
Nham Manh Dung, Duc Chien (Viettel), Huu Son (Hai Phong), Van Dat (Nam Dinh Green Steel), Minh Khoa (Binh Duong), A Mit (Thanh Hoa), Ho Khac Ngoc (SLNA)... if they perform better, they can completely catch the "green eye" of coach Kim Sang-sik.
In fact, the match against Laos and the previous (friendly) match against Cambodia were considered "easy" for the Vietnamese team. Coach Kim Sang-sik is likely to experiment with both playing style and personnel in these two matches, and the players with experience playing in the V-League mentioned above, if given the opportunity to join the national team, can be used.
