Vietnam Futsal's dream of participating in the World Cup for the third consecutive time was shattered; The strange case after the defeat of U23 Vietnam

Strange case after U23 Vietnam's defeat

All four quarter-final matches of the 2024 AFC U23 Championship had red cards and the team with the red card was eliminated.

April 26 witnessed the sadness of the Vietnamese teams in the continental playground. After the futsal team failed to find a ticket to the World Cup, it was the turn of the Vietnam U23 team to end their Olympic dream after a 0-1 defeat to Iraq U23 in the quarter-finals of the U23 Asian Cup.

In the midst of the difficulties, U23 Vietnam also lost a player when Nguyen Manh Hung was sent off for stepping on Ali Jassim's shin in the second half's injury time. In the end, coach Hoang Anh Tuan's team could not turn the game around.

With Manh Hung's red card, all four quarter-final matches at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship had at least one red card. Coincidentally, the four teams with red cards were eliminated.

Vietnam Futsal's dream of participating in the 3rd consecutive World Cup was shattered

The 2-3 loss in the play-off match against the Kyrgyzstan futsal team shattered the dream of the Vietnamese futsal team participating in the futsal World Cup for the third consecutive time.

Due to losing to Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Asian Futsal Championship, the Vietnamese futsal team had to participate in the play-off round to compete for a ticket to the 2024 Futsal World Cup. On the afternoon of April 26, Diego Giustozzi and his team entered the second play-off match with Kyrgyzstan. If they win, Vietnam will play the match for a World Cup ticket with Afghanistan, the team that beat Iraq 5-3 in the first play-off match.

However, in the end, the Vietnamese futsal team lost to Kyrgyzstan with a score of 2-3. Thus, the Vietnamese futsal team no longer had the chance to compete for a ticket to the World Cup for the third consecutive time.

Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan will meet in the play-off final. The winner of this match will qualify for the 2024 Futsal World Cup, along with Uzbekistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Thailand.

What did Koreans say after the shocking loss to U23 Indonesia?

"It was not our day," said assistant coach Myung Jae-yong of the South Korean U23 team after the shocking loss to Indonesia U23 in the quarter-finals of the U23 Asian Cup.

South Korea U23 assistant coach Myung Jae-yong believes things did not go as planned after they were eliminated from the U23 Asia quarter-finals and did not qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after a shocking defeat to "underdog" U23 Indonesia.

Assistant coach Myung Jae-yong added that the reason why the Korean U23 team did not let the current top scorer of the U23 Asian Cup, Lee, play from the start was because this player did not have enough physical strength to complete the entire match.

Assistant coach Myung Jae-yong said: “There were some players who were not in good condition. When (left-back) Lee Tae-seok was injured, we had to switch to a back four, but unfortunately our tactics did not work and today was not the day for us.”

Assistant coach Myung Jae-yong further cited that the absence of key overseas players such as Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho, Celtic FC striker Yang Hyun-jun and Brentford FC defender Kim Ji-soo has disrupted the plans of the Korean U23 team.

Two National Cup Quarter-final matches will apply VAR

The 2023/24 Casper National Cup quarter-finals will apply VAR technology in 2 matches this weekend.

According to the announcement from the Organizing Committee, the quarter-finals of the 2023/24 Casper National Cup will apply VAR technology in 2 matches: Hanoi Club - SHB Da Nang (7:15 p.m. on April 28) and Nam Dinh Green Steel Club and Becamex Binh Duong (6:00 p.m. on April 30).

Previously, VAR technology had fulfilled its role quite well in the 2023/24 season, supporting referees to make accurate decisions, bringing satisfaction to fans and players.