U19 Tottenham stun U19 Vietnam in London

U19 Vietnam admitted their first bitter defeat during their European tour after losing 9-0 to U10 Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly on March 18.

Coach Guillaume Graechen made several substitutions at the start of the match, but Vietnam could not repel the Spurs’ all-out attacks.

The Spurs scored four goals, including Shaquile Coulthirst’s hat-trick, when the first half still had 25 minutes to go.

Unlike their participation in the Vietnam Nutifood Cup early this year, the Spurs made a superb performance this time, scoring five more goals in the second half.   

 On March 20 Vietnam will play their last friendly match against U19 Wolverhampton.

In the previous four matches, Vietnam won 1, drew two and lost 1.

Norway royalty visits community football project

Norway's Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit will spend a day in the former royal capital of Hue tomorrow, meeting with members of the local Football For All Viet Nam (FFAV) project.

This is part of their ongoing official visit to Viet Nam.

The Norwegian delegation will witness more than 200 children playing football and learning life skills at the Huong An School in Huong Tra Town.

The training will be done by volunteers, most of members of the Huong An club, showcasing their capabilities after being trained by FFAV in coaching, refereeing, fundraising and other activities.

Among the dignitaries in the visiting delegation is Mette Christiansen, vice president of the Norway Football Federation, which initiated and developed the FFAV project in collaboration with the Viet Nam Football Federation in 2001.

The project, which began in Ha Noi, moved in 2003 to the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

It aims to develop community football for children between 6 and 15, especially needy boys and girls. It has set up as many as 152 football clubs with 16,000 children so far.

Ha Noi T&T plan full strength squad against Malaysia's Selangor

Coach Phan Thanh Hung of Ha Noi T&T said he would field his best players to face Malaysian Selangon in today's match of the Asian Football Federation Cup's Group F.

"Selangor is a team with long-year tradition in Malaysia, six times winning their local tournament. They are, at present, the M-League first runner-up. Although they did not have good results from two recent matches, we still respect them," said Hung at yesterday's press conference.

"We have won two matches and will play on our home turf tomorrow. These are our pros that will support us to have another victory and move closer to the knock-out round. T&T will play with our strongest players this month as we seek to crush Selangor," Hung said.

In this match, T&T will welcome back Australian halfback Sam Justin Gallagher and striker Hoang Vu Samson, after their being banned because of cards.

Meanwhile, Hector Hughtun Kerin Vaghaun and Gonzalo Marronkle were in good form recently during local and international competitions.

Also, midfielder Nguyen Van Quyet is prepared to score more goals to maintain his top ranking on the best scorers' list.

After two rounds, T&T is leading Group F with six points, while Selangor has two points from two draws and ranks second.

The former national team coach said Selangor was not an easy rival, as they need points to avoid elimination.

"As far as I know, Selangor is home to six national team players and they have two Brazilain strikers, as well as an Australian midfielder. They have good speed and physique. Like some other Malaysian clubs, they are strong at defence and counter-attack, and they often create a lot of difficulties for Vietnamese opponents," Hung said.

On the other side, coach Mehmet Durakovic and his team will play without some key members.

No 1 goalkeeper Mohd Hamsani Bin Ahmad, who was sent off last match, could not play today, while others are suffering injuries.

"I have seen video tapes of their games and found that Ha Noi T&T are a team with skilful techniques. This shows through their two wins with six points," said Durakovic.

"My team, although it can not play with some main players, however we will do our best to show a good result," he said, hoping that it would be a fair game.

In other matches, Arema Indonesia will play hosts Maziya Sports&Recreation of Maldives at the National Stadium, in Male City.

Ninh Binh top group with Kelantan win

Viet Nam's Ninh Binh posted a hard fought but convincing 3-2 win over Malaysia's Kelantan yesterday to lead Group B at the Asian Football Cup (AFC) .

Ninh Binh have nine points from three wins in the group that includes Yangon United of Myanmar, Kelatan and South China.

Also yesterday, Yangon United beat South China 2-0 to move to second place in Group B with six points.

Two top teams from the group will qualify for the tournament quarter-finals.

Binh eyes first full marathon title

Marathoner Pham Thi Binh believes she will have no rival at the Tien Phong Newspaper Cross Country and Marathon Tournament in Da Lat City on Sunday.

"I have trained hard since early this year for the annual event. It will be my fifth time participating, but the first time I've entered the full marathon category," the SEA Games champion told Viet Nam News yesterday.

The Quang Ngai Province-born runner made her debut at the 55-year-old competition in 2011, when she won a gold medal. In the next two years, the 23-year-old found it easy to defend her title in the 21km class.

"Marathon is the most exhausting event in track-and-field. In Viet Nam, not many athletes are interested in it. Some young runners from various provinces have started practising marathon. But I think that there will be no threat to my first place this year," said Binh, who is the queen of the long-distance event in all national tournaments.

This is the first time the most prestigious domestic running competition will feature the 42km event.

"We first held a semi-marathon event in 2009 and now after five years we are pushing the run to a higher level by adding the full marathon event," said Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy head of the organising board.

"Although we don't have many athletes competing in this event, we became the leading marathon country in the Southeast Asian region after (Pham Thi) Binh won the women's title in the recent 27th SEA Games in Myanmar.

"I believe the Tien Phong Marathon will be an additional opportunity for our athletes, who in fact have not taken part in many tournaments, to get some practise. We have also sent invitations to regional federations, but because of budget shortages they could not compete. Hopefully we can welcome them next year."

The 42km event is open to anyone, including foreigners. Participants can register with the Lam Dong Province Sports Department until this Sunday.

Athletes will run around Xuan Huong Lake, one of the most popular sightseeing destinations in the Central Highlands city.

More than 250 professional and amateur runners will take part in the men's and women's 3km, 5km, 7km and 10km.

"Four years ago we successfully held a Viet Nam-Japan friendly run. This is the second time our city hosts the Tien Phong competition," said Nguyen Van Quang, deputy director of Lam Dong's Culture and Sports Department. "We have invited 80 referees, and police will ensure athletes and viewers' safety."

The top 10 finishers will receive VND130 million (US$6,200). The marathon will be aired live on VTV6 starting around 7am this Sunday.