Korean newspaper fears home team will lose to Vietnam in final round of Panda Cup 2025; Netherlands to attend World Cup 2026

Korean newspaper fears home team will lose to Vietnam in final round of Panda Cup 2025

The defeat against U22 China has made the Korean media worried that the home team may continue to stumble when facing U22 Vietnam in the final match of the 2025 Panda Cup international friendly tournament.

Despite a smooth start with a 2-0 victory over Uzbekistan U22 in the opening match, Korea U22 unexpectedly stumbled against the host team China U22 in the second match. This result made the tournament situation extremely unpredictable, as all four teams have 3 points and still have a chance to compete for the 2025 Panda Cup championship.

Once considered the strongest candidate of the tournament, U22 Korea now faces a lot of skepticism from the Korean media. The defeat to China not only caused them to lose their advantage, but also raised questions about the true form of coach Lee Min Sung's team.

Before the crucial match against U22 Vietnam, Chosun newspaper commented that U22 Korea is facing the risk of having to accept another defeat, especially when Vietnam shows its bravery and extremely annoying playing style.

“Losing with such a weak style of play against China is unacceptable, regardless of the nature of the match. If everything remains as it is, U22 Korea will find it difficult to overcome U22 Vietnam. This team is the one that made U22 China 'regret' in the opening match with an extremely flexible defensive-counterattacking style. In a friendly tournament like Panda Cup, any unexpected result can happen,” wrote Chosun.

Meanwhile, Xportsnews was surprised by the youthful, even and ambitious force of U22 Vietnam. "U22 Vietnam is a relatively strong team. They have many quality players and are ready to punish the mistakes of U22 Korea. In a friendly tournament like Panda Cup, any result can happen... Things could be even worse if U22 Korea loses to U22 Vietnam in the match on November 18."

U22 Vietnam won U22 China and lost to U22 Uzbekistan. A victory and a defeat also happened similarly with opponents China, Uzbekistan, and South Korea. After two rounds, all 4 teams have the same 3 points, with a goal difference not too different. That makes the chance of U22 Vietnam winning the 2025 Panda Cup friendly championship possible.

In terms of necessary conditions, Van Truong and his teammates must win against U22 Korea. In terms of sufficient conditions, U22 Vietnam needs to wait for a favorable result between U22 China and U22 Uzbekistan. In case U22 China and U22 Uzbekistan draw, the "Young Warriors of the Golden Star" will definitely win this year's tournament if they win against Korea.

Netherlands to attend 2026 World Cup

In the match between the Netherlands and Lithuania in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe, the home team easily won 4-0 to officially win the ticket.

The Netherlands fielded a number of quality players in their home match against weak Lithuania. Therefore, it was no surprise that the "Orange Storm" opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Indonesian-born star Reijnders - a Man City player - scored after being "set up" by De Jong.

After this goal, the Netherlands continued to dominate Lithuania. But the wastefulness of their attacking stars prevented them from scoring more goals in the first half.

In the second half, the Netherlands played much better and the strikers also took advantage of the opportunities better. In the 58th minute, they increased the score to 2-0 when Gakpo successfully kicked the penalty.

Just 2 minutes later, Gakpo assisted Simons to score the third goal for the "Orange Storm". This was a match of stars playing in the Premier League. After Reijnders (Man City), Gakpo (Liverpool), Simons (Tottenham), it was Malen's (Aston Villa) turn to shine.

In the 62nd minute, Malen scored the winning goal in the 4-0 victory of the Netherlands over Lithuania. With the victory, the Netherlands officially reached the 2026 World Cup as the top team in Group G. The team that will have to play in the play-off is Poland.

MU wants to explode "blockbuster" from Real Madrid

MU is said to be pursuing an extremely bold transfer target, capable of immediately changing the midfield situation under coach Ruben Amorim.

According to Defensa Central, the Red Devils have Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni on their top priority list. If successful, this will be one of MU's most sensational signings in recent years.

In the summer of 2025, MU spent 215.3 million pounds to bring Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, Diego Leon and Senne Lammens. However, they lacked a classy anchor in the midfield. MU once targeted Brighton's Carlos Baleba, but was asked for 100 million pounds so the deal quickly collapsed. The Manchester team turned to Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, but the deal did not progress.

Now, MU wants to solve a bigger problem: finding a successor for Casemiro. The Brazilian midfielder seemed certain to leave Old Trafford, but his recent stable performance has made MU want to keep him. However, they hope to renegotiate his salary from 350,000 pounds/week to around 130,000 pounds/week, a figure that Casemiro is almost certain to reject. That opens up the possibility of him leaving sooner than expected.

That's why Tchouameni has become a key target. However, this is an extremely difficult deal. Real Madrid have no intention of selling their mainstay, especially when the French midfielder is becoming the driving force of the midfield under Xabi Alonso. Tchouameni's contract runs until 2028 and Real want to extend it and increase his salary to keep him long-term.

The source stressed that Real would only let Tchouameni leave if he himself requested it. For now, all parties want to continue their relationship. MU's ambition is clear, but luring one of La Liga's best midfielders away from the Bernabeu is a near-impossible task.

Controversy about Ronaldo

Some fans believe that Portugal look stronger with Cristiano Ronaldo suspended.

Ronaldo did not play in the match against Armenia on November 16 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers due to suspension following his red card in the loss to Ireland. Despite missing the 40-year-old superstar, coach Roberto Martínez's team still performed overwhelmingly and scored 9 goals against their opponents.

Bruno Fernandes was the standout with a hat-trick. According to many fans, the MU midfielder is the “number one star” in the current Portuguese squad. “This is definitely not Ronaldo’s team anymore, it’s Bruno Fernandes’s team,” one person wrote on X.

Alongside Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves also scored a hat-trick in the match, including a stunning free-kick. Those goals showed the depth of Portugal's squad and the potential of its young players, despite Ronaldo's absence.

Ronaldo will turn 41 by the time the 2026 World Cup kicks off in June next year. The Al Nassr striker has said this will be his “last chance” to win the only title missing from his massive collection.