World cup soccer

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, teams in group G of World Cup Asian qualifiers will play their remaining games at a centralized venue. Both UAE and Thailand have expressed their desire to host the games, though Asian Football Federation will most likely choose the former since it can fulfill all stadium, training ground, accommodation, Covid-19 prevention and cost requirements. What concerns Vietnam head coach Park Hang-seo the most is the scorching weather in UAE, where the heat and high humidity could fast deplete player stamina. Park wants the national team to train at a location with similar weather as UAE. However, because of the pandemic, it will be difficult for the squad to train abroad. Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) will arrange for the team to go to UAE a week early to acclimatize. The national team is expected to gather for training in May, when V. League is on break. They will have around a month to prepare for the three big games, with Indonesia on June 7, Malaysia on the 11th and UAE on the 15th. VFF will also propose vaccinating the national team before competing in World Cup Asian qualifiers. Though the first batch of vaccines from AstraZeneca will be administered to prioritized groups on March 8, footballers are not included. Vietnam is topping group G with 11 points after five games. The Golden Dragons will enter the final round of World Cup Asian qualifiers for the first time in history if they score seven points from three games. …

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The national football squad’s South Korean chief coach Park Hang Seo has returned to his work after quarantine. The coach faces challenges and great expectations. Although the remaining matches in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers have not yet taken place, the sideline information about the preparation of the opponents may worry the Korean football expert. The first rival of the Vietnamese team will be Malaysia. Their game is scheduled on June 11. Malaysia has recently employed Brazilian-origin striker De Paula. This is the 8th foreign football player nationalized in Malaysia. Meanwhile, members of the Vietnamese team are familiar faces who have been used by coach Park for the last 2-3 football seasons. However, the V-League 2021 will return this month and coach Park will have opportunities to find out new talents. According to Mr. Park, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may be the host of the remaining matches of Group G of the second-round World Cup 2022 qualifiers in Asia. During their first meeting this year, coach Park Hang Seo, his assistants and officials of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) discussed the key tasks of Vietnamese football in 2021. This year, Vietnam aims to win the card of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, and defend the AFF Cup championship, while the U23 team is set to enter the U23 Asian Championships 2022 and the U22 team to defend its championship at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Among these missions, coach Park Hang Seo is particularly interested in the 2022 World Cup qualifying. According to schedule, the Vietnamese team will face Indonesia on June 7, then Malaysia on June 11 and finally the UAE on June 15. Coach Park Hang Seo said: "I am ready to start preparation for it. First is to find out and update information about the Indonesian, Malaysian, and the UAE teams and then information on weather conditions in the UAE, the country that is likely to host the remaining matches of Group G." Park asked …

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Accordingly, the Vietnamese football players from Viettel, Hanoi and Saigon football clubs are eligible for the two sport events. AFC Champions League will officially kick off next month. If the players are not injected the Covid-19 vaccine, they will be quarantined upon arrival in the host country and that will affect their performance before the match. Besides, the football players must conduct 14-day quarantine requirement as returning to Vietnam if they are not injected the Covid-19 vaccine. That will also affect to plans for local competition tournaments. As this reason, Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company proposed Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to seek the Government's approval for prioritizing vaccinations for football players and training staffs. Recently, AFC announced that Saigon Football Club will compete in AFC Cup 2021 in Singapore. By Cao Tuong- Translated by Huyen Huong …

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