Football

Paul Kennedy The roller coaster ride of this season’s Premier League title race will have taken yet another twist by the time you read this column. Manchester City played Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this morning and anything other than a win for City would hand momentum back to Liverpool. The build-up to game left United fans torn. LOADSAMONEY: Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. — Photo AFP Beating their nearest neighbour would put Liverpool, their biggest rival, in the driving seat to win their first Premier League title. Lose then City will go back on top. Asking a United fan who they would prefer to win the league between Manchester City and Liverpool is akin to asking them which one of their friends would they like catch in bed with their wife. Yet despite this tricky conundrum, there’s a growing feeling, not just among United fans, that most people want City to triumph, and I really don’t get that. … [Read more...] about Money can’t buy you love

They will now be placed in the third pot along with Myanmar, with Singapore moving down one pot to the fourth. The VFF’s complaint about Vietnam’s lowly seeding was to have been discussed on April 22 at an ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) meeting, but it has been resolved slightly earlier after the AFF and SEA Games 30 host Philippines reached an agreement. In March the seedings were announced with the hosts explaining they were based on performances in the last SEA Games in 2017 when Vietnam failed to qualify from the group stage. But the VFF pointed out that Singapore (six points) and Myanmar (nine points) too did not qualify and yet were ranked higher than Vietnam, who earned 10 points at the tournament. Placement in the bottom pot would have seen Vietnam drawn in a tough group. The SEA Games 30 will take place from November 30 to December 10 this year. In the past they were restricted to under-22 footballers, but the rules have been changed to allow each team to have two … [Read more...] about Vietnam SEA Games football seeding improves after complaint

The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) announced on April 19 that his goal received 612 votes in a public poll, or 47 percent. His goal, part of 6-0 thrashing of Myanmar’s Shan United by Becamex last Tuesday, was struck from the edge of the box after a great assist by captain and forward Nguyen Anh Duc. Thanks to the win, Becamex are in second spot in group G with seven points from four games and high hopes of reaching the ASEAN zone semifinals. Coming in second place in the public vote was midfielder Juma Saeed’s goal in Kuwait SC’s 2-1 win over Bahrain’s Al-Najma SC. It got 479 votes. Another Vietnamese club, Hanoi FC, also had a nomination: a goal by striker Ganiyu Bolayi Oseni, part of a hat-trick which helped his team score a come-from-behind 5-2 away win over Myanmar’s Yangon United. This is the second time a V-League player has won the honour. In the first round Hanoi FC center back Do Duy Manh had scored with a piledriver from 35 meters out. His … [Read more...] about Vietnamese midfielder scores best goal of week in AFC Cup

The V-League had 19,715 points to rank 22nd in Asia and behind Thailand (8th), the Philippines (12th), Singapore (16th), and Malaysia (17th) in Southeast Asia. This follows unimpressive performances by V-League clubs in international tournaments. Since 2017 Vietnam has not had a single team playing in the finals of the biggest continental club competition, the AFC Champions League. Its teams also played poorly in the AFC Cup for weaker teams, with none qualifying from the group stage since 2015. The best performance so far has been by Binh Duong who made it to the semifinals in 2009. In the 2019 season Vietnam has two representatives in the AFC Cup. In the most recent matches both scored convincing wins against Myanmarese opposition with Becamex Binh Duong thrashing Shan United 6-0 and Hanoi FC beating Yangon United 5-2. If the clubs go far, the V-League’s ranking will improve and Vietnamese teams will get direct entry into the finals of the AFC Champions League. Thailand has had … [Read more...] about Vietnam football league ranks poor fifth in Southeast Asia

This also means that Vietnam maintains its position as the best team in Southeast Asia, managing to improve its ranking despite not playing any match in March. With 1227 points, Vietnam is currently 16th in Asia, which is enough to get into the second seed pot for the second elimination round for the 2022 World Cup that will have 40 teams. Vietnam needs to maintain this position, though. Dropping to 17th spot in Asia will see them falling into the third pot, facing much stronger opponents. Right behind Vietnam in Asia at the moment is Palestine, ranked 99th in the world, with three points less. Vietnam can also aim for Jordan’s current ranking of 97th (15th in Asia), who has two points more. The Golden Dragons will have the chance to go up further in the FIFA rankings if they do well at the King’s Cup this June. The grouping draw for 2022 World Cup qualification is expected to be held in summer this year, and the second elimination round will begin in September. The last … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s men move up one place in FIFA rankings