Cup

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has been ruled out of the Club World Cup. (Paul ELLIS/AFP) Croatian defender Lovren will miss out as a result of the hamstring problem he suffered during Tuesday's Champions League victory in Salzburg. But Dutch midfielder Wijnaldum, who appeared to suffer a hamstring injury in the Premier League leaders' 2-0 win over Watford on Saturday, was named among the 20-man party which flew out on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp's side enter the Club World Cup at the semi-final stage on Wednesday, with Mexican side Monterrey their opponents in Doha. A statement on Liverpool's official website confirmed Lovren's omission and Wijnaldum's inclusion. Resources are already stretched thinly with a youth team set to play a League Cup quarter-final at Aston Villa on Tuesday, and Fabinho (ankle) and Joel Matip (knee) ruled out of games in the Middle East. "With the Gini injury, Dejan three or four days ago, our squad is not getting bigger. That is not cool," Klopp said. "But that … [Read more...] about Lovren ruled out of Liverpool’s Club World Cup trip

  Vietnamese midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải seen at the AFC U23 Championship 2018.— Photo baomoi.com HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải’s goal in the final between Việt Nam and Uzbekistan in the AFC U23 Championship 2018 has been selected as one of the event's eight most iconic goals ever by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). As the AFC U23 Championship Thailand 2020 kicks off in just a few weeks, the AFC has picked eight of the finest goals in the competition since the first edition in Oman in 2014. According to the AFC website, while Uzbekistan won the tournament, Hải captured the imagination and his 'Rainbow in the Snow' in the final – one of five superb goals by the midfielder – provided one of the most iconic moments the competition has ever seen. Despite finishing second place in the event last year, reaching the final was a historic landmark for Vietnamese … [Read more...] about Hải’s goal in the snow selected as one of eight iconic strikes at AFC U23 Champs

  Việt Nam’s women football team seen at the SEA Games 30. — Photo baogiaothong.vn HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s women football team have risen two places to 32nd in the latest FIFA world rankings, according to the Việt Nam Football Federation. The Vietnamese women’s football team are the strongest in Southeast Asia after becoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games champions, beating Thailand 1-0 in final in the Philippines. They rank sixth in Asia with 1,665 points behind Australia (seventh), Japan (10th), North Korea (11th), China (15th) and South Korea (20th). In Southeast Asia, Việt Nam rank top, followed by Thailand who are now 38th in the world. The US, Germany and Netherlands respectively remain the top three. After the 30th SEA Games, which concluded in the Philippines on December 11, Việt Nam's female team will head to Jeju, South Korea to play in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo … [Read more...] about Việt Nam’s women team rise two spots to world No 32

  Former national player Ngô Quang Trường. — Photo baomoi.com HÀ NỘI — Former team national player Ngô Quang Trường was appointed head coach of V.League 1 side Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA), replacing Nguyễn Đức Thắng yesterday. The 47-year-old coach is a former SLNA captain and then coached the junior teams. He led SLNA's U17 team to win the national U17 football championship in 2012. Trường coached the SLNA senior team briefly in 2015-16. After that, he returned to coach young teams. Last year, Trường was hired as technical director of V.League club Hải Phòng. Following the end of the 2019 season, Trường came back to SLNA. This year, SLNA finished seventh out of 14 teams in the rankings. — VNS       … [Read more...] about Trường appointed to be head coach of SLNA