List of Vietnam national team to play Hong Kong (China); Vietnam has the first athlete to win a ticket to the 2024 Olympics; Barca asks Xavi to win the Champions League next season... are the main news in the general sports news bulletin this morning (June 13).

List of Vietnam national team to play Hong Kong (China): Lam Ti Phong joins Van Toan, Cong Phuong, Quang Hai

On the afternoon of June 12, Coach Philippe Troussier announced the list of Vietnam vs Hong Kong (China) national team.

Lam Ti Phong of Dong A Thanh Hoa was selected in the shortlist this time.

Except for goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh and defender Nguyen Phong Hong Duy who have left the team to continue injury treatment, the other four players not selected by coach Philippe Troussier this time are two defenders Schmidt Adriano, Nguyen Thanh Chung, two midfielders Nguyen Trong Long and Le Pham Thanh Long (Dong A Thanh Hoa).

These 4 players will also end their training session with the national team and return to their clubs.

In addition, coach Philippe Troussier also selected 4 excellent players from the U23 Vietnam squad to wear the Vietnam national team jersey. They are defender Phan Tuan Tai, midfielders Khuat Van Khang, Hoang Van Toan and striker Nguyen Van Tung.

This morning (June 13), the Vietnam national team will travel to Hai Phong to complete the final preparations for their debut at Lach Tray Stadium. The remaining players in Hanoi will continue training to prepare for the next selection round of the Vietnam national team, playing the second friendly match against the Syrian national team on June 20 at Thien Truong Stadium, Nam Dinh.

First Vietnamese athlete wins ticket to 2024 Olympics

Thanks to her Asian championship achievement, cyclist Nguyen Thi That became the first Vietnamese athlete to win a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Nguyen Thi That (middle) on the podium to receive the gold medal in the road event of the 2023 Asian Championships at Rayong camp, Thailand on June 12. Photo: VCF

V-League 2023 must change schedule because of Hai Phong Club

The two teams with the best results in V-League 2022, Hanoi FC (champion) and Hai Phong FC (runner-up), will represent Vietnam in the Asian club competition. The capital team, with the championship, will participate in the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2023.

However, Hai Phong team must compete in the play-off to win a ticket to the most prestigious Asian club tournament.

Notably, the schedule of the Asian play-off matches (August 15 and possibly August 22) coincides with the time V-League 2023 is taking place.

Therefore, the V-League Organizing Committee must make slight adjustments to the schedule of the Vietnam National Championship so that Hai Phong Club can conveniently participate in the AFC Champions League play-off.

After 11 rounds, Hai Phong Club is currently ranked 6th on the V-League 2023 rankings with 15 points.

In the last two rounds before V-League 2023 officially enters phase 2, Hai Phong Club will meet Da Nang Club (June 24) and Thanh Hoa Club (July 2).

Barca asks Xavi to win Champions League next season

The former Barca midfielder said president Joan Laporta asked him to help the team win the Champions League or at least go deep.

“The president compared me to Rijkaard,” Xavi said. “In Rijkaard’s first season, he didn’t win anything. Barca finished second in La Liga. But after that, we improved constantly.”

“The next season, we won La Liga. That’s what we’ve done now. And the season after that, the Champions League,” Xavi added.

Xavi revealed that winning the Champions League “is definitely what we need this season, or at least to be competitive enough to win it”.

However, before talking about going to the final match, Xavi needs to take his students to the knockout round after 2 consecutive seasons stopping right at the group stage.

Hoang Son

(Synthetic)