Vietnam Olympic team has enough players for ASIAD 19; Determining 16 teams to participate in the 2024 U23 Asia final round

Hoang Anh Gia Lai trials former Benfica star, who scored against Porto

To prepare for V.League 2023/24, Hoang Anh Gia Lai has made many changes in the squad. Names that were not in coach Kiatisak's plan such as Brandao, Tuan Linh,... have said goodbye to the mountain town team. On the other hand, Hoang Anh Gia Lai is also conducting a trial for a few foreign players. Notably, the case of striker Joao Mario, a player who has played for many years in the Portuguese national championship.

Joao Mario was born in Guinea Bissau, a small country in West Africa. He learned football at Lusitana, a club in Senegal, which is a neighboring country of Guinea Bissa to the north. Then, this player born in 1993 was transferred to Benfica U19 as a free agent. Joao Mario once played for Benfica B but he could not prove his ability so he had to leave and went through many different clubs.

In the 2023 season, from Vilafranquense, this 1m85 tall striker played for Spartak Varna for 100,000 pounds. After 7 starting matches for the Finnish team, he scored 2 goals. With his unimpressive performance, Spartak Varna did not renew the contract with Joao Mario and now he is introduced to play football at Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

Vietnam Olympic team has enough players for ASIAD 19

On September 13, the Olympic team had 12 more players fromU23 Vietnamconcentrate, thereby increasing the number of players training to prepare for ASIAD 19 to 24. The players reinforced for the Vietnam Olympic team include: Cao Van Binh, Doan Huy Hoang, Phan Tuan Tai, Nguyen Hong Phuc, Nguyen Duc Anh, Vo Minh Trong, Khuat Van Khang, Nguyen Duc Phu, Nguyen Thai Son, Nguyen Dinh Bac, Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Bui Vi Hao.

These are all players who played well, contributing to helping U23 Vietnam qualify for the final round of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship as group winners.

There are a total of 23 teams participating in men's football at ASIAD 19 and divided into 6 groups (5 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams). The Vietnam Olympic team is in the same group with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Mongolia. The teams will compete in a round robin format to determine the ranking points in each group. The first and second teams in each group and the 4 third-placed teams with the best results in the 6 groups will qualify for the round of 16.

The group stage matches of the 19th Asian Games men's football will take place from September 19 to 24. The round of 16 will take place on September 26 and 27. The quarter-finals will be held on September 30. The semi-finals will take place on October 3. The bronze medal and gold medal matches will take place on October 7.

Determining 16 teams participating in the 2024 U23 Asia final round

At the end of the third round of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, the representatives of the Southeast Asian region all achieved favorable results to win tickets to Qatar to attend the final round.

U23 Vietnam is the first team in Southeast Asia and Asia to win a ticket to the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals. Following U23 Vietnam are U23 Thailand (Group H Winner) and U23 Indonesia (Group K Winner). U23 Malaysia has a ticket to the finals as one of the four best second-placed teams.

The list of 16 teams that have won tickets to the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals includes: U23 Jordan (Group A), U23 Korea (B), U23 Vietnam (C), U23 Japan (D), U23 Uzbekistan (E), U23 Iraq (F), U23 UAE (G), U23 Thailand (H), U23 Australia (I), U23 Saudi Arabia (J), U23 Indonesia (K), U23 China, U23 Kuwait, U23 Tajikistan and U23 Malaysia.

Thus, in the 2024 U23 Asian finals, Southeast Asia has a full lineup of talents. Among them, U23 Vietnam is the team participating for the 5th consecutive time. The best achievement is the runner-up position in 2018. According to the schedule, the 2024 U23 Asian finals will take place in Qatar from April 15 to May 3, 2024.

Real Madrid ready to sign £200m deal for Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe's future remains up in the air as his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires next summer. And Spanish giants Real Madrid are preparing a swoop. Real Madrid look set to beat Manchester United to the signing of Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer for £200m (wages and bonuses), according to the Mirror.

24-year-old French striker Kylian Mbappe is likely to leave PSG on a free transfer when his contract expires in June 2024. Last summer, Mbappe refused to commit his future to PSG.

According to information from the Spanish newspaper Sport, Real Madrid intends to recruit Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer next summer. Real Madrid will try to reach an agreement with Mbappe early next year. That is the time when Mbappe can freely negotiate with any other club without going through his parent club PSG.

Sport newspaper added that Los Blancos have spent around 200 million pounds in salary and bonuses to convince Kylian Mbappe to move from the French capital to the Spanish capital. In addition, Real Madrid is also willing to leave the famous number 9 shirt for Kylian Mbappe./.