Football

Thép Xanh Nam Định players in a training session. They will host Hong Kong's Lee Man in the fifth round match of the AFC Champions League Two on November 27. Photos of Thép Xanh Nam Định FC

NAM ĐỊNH Thép Xanh Nam Định will advance to the second stage of the AFC Champions League Two if they beat Lee Man FC in the Matchday 5 on their home turf on November 27 in Nam Định Province.

Vietnamese champions Nam Định are currently in second place in Group G with eight points. A win at the Thiên Trường Stadium will ensure their qualification despite whatever happens in the next matches on December 4.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong team have already been eliminated from the competition after losing all four of their matches.

Nam Định, which already beat Lee Man 2-0 in a game on September 18, are now in second place in V.League 1 with their remarkable performance.

The nation's top goal scorer, Nguyễn Xuân Son, and Lucas Silva, who scored for Nam Định in the Hong Kong game, are expected to net more points in the upcoming match after they helped the club win four matches in a row in the local league.

Nguyễn Xuân Son is at his peak and expected to score for Nam ĐỊnh in the upcoming AFC Champions League Two game. -- Photo of Thép Xanh Nam ĐỊnh

Son is now one of three strikers leading the top scorers with seven goals after nine matches. He scored five times in the last two games.

Coach Vũ Hồng Việt will use his best players for the game, except for midfielder Hendrio Araujo Dasilva, who may not play due to health problems.

"We always focus on each match with the highest determination. Although Lee Man lost to us in the first match, that doesn't mean we despise them. Our goal is three points from this clash to enter the next round," said Việt.

Lee Man have also showed good results in the Hong Kong Premier League. After eight games, they have earned 16 points and currently sit in third place.

Out of their last five matches, they won three, drew one and lost one.

The team arrived in Việt Nam with eight foreign players, including South Korean defender Kim Min-kyu, Dutch midfielder Mitchel Paulissen, and Brazilian forwards Paulinho Simionato, and Samuel Rosa.

In the other group match, Singapore's Tampines Rovers will welcome Thailand's Bangkok United FC, knowing that only a win will keep them in the competition.

The Singaporean side are on four points -- six behind leading team Bangkok United and four away from Nam Định -- and will head into the game having lost to the Thai team 4-2 in their previous meeting. VNS