HCMC – The national football teams from Singapore, North Korea and hosts Vietnam together with the U23 team of South Korea will compete in the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Son Ha Cup early next month.
The four teams will compete in the round-robin tournament from November 2-6 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi.
The Vietnamese team will be fielding their strongest squad in hopes of keeping the cup in Vietnam.
The tournament is considered the final test for both Vietnam and Singapore before the Southeast Asian championship/AFF Suzuki Cup 2010, which will be held in Vietnam and Indonesia from December 1 to 29.
The chief coach of the national football team Coach Henrique Calisto and his squad will be making their final preparations to defend the AFF-Suzuki Cup where Vietnam have been drawn in Group B with Singapore, the Philippines and Myanmar.
Henrique Calisto announced his squad of 24 players for Son Ha Cup two weeks ago. However, star striker Le Cong Vinh, who has returned from Portugal from a ligament operation, has lost his chance with the national squad because of injury.
According to the organizers, the two Korean teams are sending their strongest players. The South Korean team are the hot favourites though they are sending a 23-member squad.
The North Korean team are also said to be strong with six of their best players coming who attended the World Cup 2010 in South Africa in June.
The North Korean team will feature six key players including goalkeepers Ri Myong-guk and Ri Kang; defender Ji Jun Nam; midfielders Pak Chol-jin, Mun In Guk and Kim Kyong Il.
Vietnam’s national team will clash with South Korea’s U-23s in the opening game of the tournament on November 2 while Singapore will meet North Korea in their opener on the same day.
The VFF Cup, which used to be known as the Agribank Cup, has been held annually since 2004. Vietnam won the title in 2005 and 2009 and were runners-up in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
The Vietnam Football Federation also signed a three-year sponsorship contract with Son Ha Group. The winners of the Son Ha Cup will receive a trophy and US$20,000. The runner-up will be awarded US$10,000, while the third-place team will receive US$5,000. The sponsor will also award US$1,000 to the first scorer.
Tickets for the international football tournament will go on sale at outlets in Hanoi on Saturday, the organizing committee has announced. The tickets, priced between VND80,000-150,000 (US$4-US$7.5), will also be available at www.eleale.com.
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