National futsal team to train in Thailand
The national futsal (indoor football) team will hold a 10-day training session in Thailand in preparation for the upcoming AFC Futsal Championship's ASEAN qualifiers.
Head coach Sergio Gargelli and his 16-man squad will leave for Thailand on Sunday before flying to Jakarta, Indonesia, for the competition which will kick off on February 20.
Viet Nam are in group B with Malaysia, Cambodia and the Philippines while in group A, hosts Indonesia will play Australia, Brunei and Myanmar.
The top three teams from each group will qualify for the finals in Uzbekistan.
Viet Nam football ranks second in Southeast Asia
Viet Nam's national football team ranks second in the Southeast Asia region, according to a FIFA announcement on Wednesday.
Despite losing in the final of the SEA Games and failing to qualify for the Asian Cup final round, Viet Nam jumped seven places in the world rankings to sit at 116. The result also means Viet Nam are now ranked 19th in Asia.
Thailand are the best team in the region at 98th in the world, seven places up compared to last month's ranking.
Singapore are third at 120, and followed by Indonesia and Myanmar.
Liem falls to 12th after second draw
Le Quang Liem dropped to 12th yesterday after his second draw at the Moscow Open chess tournament.
International Grandmaster Liem tied his fifth round game against the title favourite, Viktor Bologan of Moldova.
The Vietnamese representative is now tied on four points with 11 other masters. Dmitry Andreikin of the host nation leads the competition with 4.5 points after four wins and one draw.
In his next match, Liem, who is the only master from Viet Nam competing at the tournament, will play against Sergei Zhigalko of Belarus.
The Moscow Open has attracted 187 masters and will close on Sunday. — VNS