The Japanese coach of Viet Nam’s national team, Toshiya Miura, announced yesterday, the U23 team that will compete in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.

The Japanese coach of Viet Nam’s national team, Toshiya Miura, announced yesterday, the U23 team that will compete in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship.

Among the 30 players included in the list, nine are from the Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) team: goalie Pham Van Tien, fullbacks Nguyen Phong Hong Duy, Le Van Son, Le Duc Luong, halfbacks Hoang Thanh Tung, Luong Xuan Truong, Nguyen Tuan Anh, and strikers Nguyen Cong Phuong and Nguyen Van Toan.

Besides goalkeeper Tien, Miura has selected four others, namely Nguyen Hoai Anh of Quang Ninh, Dang Ngoc Tuan of An Giang, Pham Van Phong of Dong Nai and Phi Minh Long of Ha Noi T&T.

Notable among the 10 fullbacks is Bui Tien Dung of the Viettel football centre, who is playing in the national second division event, and was considered a steely shield for the national U19 team during the ASEAN U19 football event and the Asian U19 event last year.

The 50-year-old coach has included other halfbacks in his list – Huynh Tan Tai of Dong Tam Long An, Ho Ngoc Thang and Vo Huy Toan of Da Nang, Do Huu Dung and Do Manh Duy of Ha Noi T&T, and Nguyen Huu Dung of Thanh Hoa.

According to the Japanese coach, Toan will be a key player for the halfback line with his excellent ability for attack and defence.

Miura has also chosen six strikers. Besides HAGL’s Van Toan and Cong Phuong, he has recruited younger players: Ho Tuan Tai and Ho Phuc Tinh of Song Lam Nghe An, Le Thanh Binh of Thanh Hoa and Pham Van Thanh of Ha Noi T&T.

The 2016 AFC event’s qualifying rounds are slated to be held from March 23 to 31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It will bring together 43 teams drawn into ten groups, with the ten group winners and the five best runners-up becoming eligible for the finals, which will be held in Qatar early next year.

Viet Nam, belonging to Group I, along with Japan, Malaysia and China’s Macau, will play the group opener against Malaysia on March 27 before taking on Japan and Macau on March 29 and 31, respectively.

Miura said his team’s aim is to finish first or second in the group in order to secure a birth in the final round.

As planned, the team will convene on February 24 in Ha Noi after the Tet holidays. The players will challenge themselves during two international friendly matches before heading to Malaysia.

They will also compete against Olympic winners Indonesia on March 9 in Ha Noi’s My Dinh National Stadium and Uzbekistan on March 14 in HCM City.

After the AFC qualifying round, Viet Nam’s U23 team will continue training in preparation for the 28th Southeast Asian Games to be held in June in Singapore, and will aim to win the championship title.

Source VNS

The list of nominees for the Golden Ball Award 2014, which is organised by the Saigon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper, was announced on February 4 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Among the male nominees, all 10 players have performed significantly well in their clubs and as part of the national team: Nguyen Anh Duc, Nguyen Trong Hoang and Le Cong Vinh of Becamex Binh Duong, Nguyen Van Quyet and Pham Thanh Luong of Hanoi T&T, and Mac Hong Quan of Quang Ninh Coal.

Players from the national U19 team make up for 10 out of the 11 nominees for the U21 best player award.

Among the female players, the three most outstanding footballers among the nominees are Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung and Bui Thi Nhu of Ha Nam, and HCM City’s Dang Thi Kieu Trinh.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in mid-March in HCM City.

Can Tho’s goalkeeper Ngoc rested due to injury

Goalkeeper Tran Buu Ngoc of the Toyota V.League’s Can Tho team has been rested for the next two matches because of injury.

The 1.93m-tall player will be absent from the team’s match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai during the seventh round tomorrow and Sanna Khanh Hoa on February 15.

Ngoc, who had signed a three-year contract with Can Tho for a record transfer fee of VND6.6 billion (US$314,000), has also played for both the U23 and national teams.

The Dong Thap Province native had excelled during his international debut for Viet Nam in a match against Hong Kong last year.

Source VNA/VNS

The V.League 1’s Quang Ninh Coal team achieved an awards hat-trick in January, according to the Viet Nam Football Federation

The team first won the award for the best team after winning four out of five matches during the month. Owing to his outstanding performance, Quang Ninh’s striker Nguyen Quang Hai won the award for best player. Hai had scored five goals in three matches to make a great contribution to his club.

Given its methodical organisation, professional activities and civilised encouragement, the Quang Ninh Fan Association won the award for best fan association.

The award for best coach went to Truong Viet Hoang of LG Hai Phong, while the best goal award was handed to striker Le Quoc Phuong of Thanh Hoa.

Source VNS

 Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s (HAGL’s) striker Nguyen Cong Phuong has been found guilty of violating the national team’s trade rights after he wore the team’s jersey during a beer commercial.

The Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) confirmed this development.

According to Nguyen Minh Chau, deputy general secretary of the VFF, every national footballer has the right to sign an advertising contract with any enterprises, but only in an individual capacity.

“In case a footballer uses an image related to the national team, he needs to have an agreement with VFF. So Phuong broke the VFF’s rule,” said Chau.

The VFF will be sending an official dispatch to the 20-year-old player and the advertising unit soon.

Born in the central province of Nghe An, Phuong won the Best Player prize at the ASEAN Youth Football Championship for the 2014 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in Brunei. He has also played a key role in Viet Nam’s performance during different international tournaments, as well as during training courses abroad.

He is currently playing for HAGL in the national premier league.

Source VNS

Reigning champions Becamex Binh Duong suffered a humiliating 1-3 loss, playing guest to Dong Tam Long An in their V-League seventh-round match on Sunday – the first defeat of Binh Duong at Long An Stadium in their V-League history.

It was Binh Duong who made a better start to the game. The defending champions rallied to an early lead with striker Tang Tuan successfully converting Abass’s nice cross in the area after just three minutes of play.

Inspired by the opening goal, Binh Duong players played more comfortably and poured a constant threat on the host side, including a 22nd-minute free kick by striker Le Cong Vinh hitting the cross-bar.

Contrary to their fabulous first half, Binh Duong exhibited an extremely poor performance in the second half, conceding three consecutive goals, all attributed to their defensive mistakes.

Phan Van Tai Em took advantage of a chaotic situation in Binh Duong’s area to equalise for Dong Tam Long An with a 52nd-minute powerful strike. Chi Cong produced a nasty header to make it 2-1 for the host team five minutes later before Diabate scored Long An’s third goal at the 72nd minute.

With this bitter defeat, Becamex Binh Duong missed the chance to consolidate their place atop the V-League standings. Meanwhile, the victory made Dong Tam Long An the only team to remain unbeaten since the beginning of the 2015 V-League.

Other seventh-round clashes included Song Lam Nghe An–Hanoi T&T (2-0), Dong Thap–Sanna Khanh Hoa (0-1), XSKT Can Tho–Hoang Anh Gia Lai (3-1), Dong Nai–LG Hai Phong (1-1), Quang Ninh Coal–Thanh Hoa (0-1), and SHB Da Nang–QNK Quang Nam (1-1).

Source Nhan dan

The 2015 V-League seventh round witnessed an incredible loss for reigning champions Becamex Binh Duong and a sweet victory for XSKT Can Tho. Let’s take a review of some of the most notable events from this round of play.

Reigning champions Becamex Binh Duong miss the opportunity to solidify their top position.

1. Title favourites suffer losses

Two title favourites, Becamex Binh Duong and Quang Ninh Coal, dropped points in this round of play. Despite the losses, their positions in the standings remain unchanged, though their gap with runners-up LG Hai Phong and Dong Tam Long An has been narrowed down to just one point.

2. Can Tho get first win

After six games of draws and losses, manager Nguyen Van Sy and his players tasted the full flavour of victory on Saturday as XSKT Can Tho beat Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3-1 on their home field. With this victory, Can Tho temporarily climbed one step to escape from the bottom position in the standings with five points in hand.

3. Dong Tam Long An extend unbeaten run

Dong Tam Long An was the only team to remain unbeaten as the seventh round concluded last weekend. After three wins and four draws, Dong Tam Long An climbed to fourth place in the standings with 13 points, just two points behind leaders Becamex Binh Duong. With such determination and form, the team is expected to continue their impressive run in the remainder of this year’s V-League season.

4. Van Thang leads scoring tally

Striker Van Thang of XSKT Can Tho rallied to the lead of the scoring tally with seven goals after netting a hat trick in the match against Hoang Anh Gia Lai on February 7. Most noticeably, seven of Can Tho’s nine total goals were scored by this striker. Thang’s progress proved that domestic players can definitely perform miracles if trusted by their managers.

5. Referee changes decision

Referee Hoang Ngoc Ha and his assistant Truong Duc Chien made an inconsistent decision regarding the 84th-minute situation of the clash between SHB Da Nang and QNK Quang Nam. They initially recognised the goal scored by Da Nang’s Quach Tan but then surprisingly changed their decision after encountering strong protest from Quang Nam players.

Source Nhan Dan

Defending champions Becamex Binh Duong lost a humiliating game to Dong Tam Long An, which won 3-1 in a seventh round match of the Toyota V. League 1 yesterday, Feb. 8.

Reversing expectations: Souleymane Diabate (middle) of Dong Tam Long An vies for a ball against Binh Duong’s defender Pham Minh Duc during their V.League 1 match yesterday. Dong Tam Long An win 3-1. — Photo: VNE

The hosts were expected to be Binh Duong’s next victim, as they won five of their six matches so far. This belief was strengthened after they scored the first goal just 16 minutes into the game.

Nguyen Tang Tuan opened the score, converting a perfect pass from Cheikh Abass Dieng from the left wing.

Binh Duong continued to dominate the first half of the game, even though their goal hunters missed all numerous threatening chances.

Yet Dong Tam Long An was back on track after the break, with former national team member Phan Van Tai Em getting the ball in the box and quickly netting it in the 53rd minute.

Three minutes later, the score was 2-1 for the hosts of Tan An Stadium, which saw thousands of home fans yesterday.

Coach Le Thuy Hai made several changes in his line-up to try to turn the situation around, but his all-star squad still failed.

Soulemane Diabate took advantage of a mistake made by former national team defender Le Phuoc Tu. His shot over goalkeeper Nguyen Quoc Thien Esele easily found the net.

Hai continued to change tactics and players, but nothing worked, even when Dong Tam Long An had to play with 10 men after Huynh Tan Tai received his second yellow card in the 75th minute.

The loss did not affect Binh Duong’s top position, as the two closest rival teams did not win yesterday, either.

While Quang Ninh Coal suffered its first loss at its home ground, beaten 0-1 by Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong drew Dong Nai 1-1.

However, Dong Tam Long An rose to the fourth position in the rankings, thanks to their third win.

The early match on Saturday saw a first win for Can Tho, who beat Hoang Anh Gia Lai 3-1 with a hat-trick by Le Van Thang.

Thang, who rarely plays as a striker, now leads the chart as the top scorer with seven goals.

“We knew it would be a key match for the whole team that had yet to win a game. We kept eyes on all Hoang Anh Gia Lai players. We left them no room to play what they were good at, and succeeded. We won because we had a clear idea of their tactics,” Thang remarked.

Coach Nguyen Van Sy, however, did not look down on the losing team.

He pointed out that “players of Hoang Anh Gia Lai were skilled and determined in his first V. League 1 season. If they had qualified foreign strikers in the second half of the tournament, they would be a formidable squad to play against”.

Furthermore, coach Guillaume Graechen of Hoang Anh Gia Lai admitted that there were many improvements to be made in the team that did not have a real leader.

While the Frenchman congratulated the winning squad, he confessed that his team had lost because they had neither attacked well, nor defended well.

The first win helped Can Tho leave the bottom position, and players enjoyed the VND500 million (US$23,800) they won. However, the fifth loss for Hoang Anh Gia Lai pushed it to the 11th spot among 13 teams.

In other stadiums, SHB Da Nang tied Quang Nam 1-1, and Dong Thap lost 0-1 to Sanna Khanh Hoa.

Source VNS