Japan loses key player before meeting Vietnam in quarter-finals of Asian Cup 2019

In the match against Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup on the evening of January 21, Yoshinori Muto received a yellow card in the 39th minute for a dangerous foul on an opposing player.

This is also the second yellow card for the striker born in 1992 at the 2019 Asian Cup. Previously, Muto received a yellow card in Japan's 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan in the group stage.

Yoshinori Muto (number 13) is absent in the match against Vietnam.

According to the regulations of the 2019 Asian Cup, a player who receives 2 yellow cards in 2 different matches in the group stage, round of 16 and quarter-finals will be suspended for the next match. The player will only have his card removed from the semi-finals.

Thus, having received two yellow cards, Muto will have to miss the match against the Vietnamese team in the quarter-finals.

At the 2019 Asian Cup, this striker was on the bench in the first two matches and only played for about 40 minutes. It was not until the match against Uzbekistan when Japan had officially won a ticket to the knockout round that Muto was used from the start and scored 1 goal in the 2-1 victory of the "Blue Samurai".

It is known that Yoshinori Muto is playing for Newcastle Club in the Premier League, with a transfer fee of up to 12 million USD (nearly 250 billion VND).

Muto was the author of the opening goal against MU in round 8 of the 2018/2019 Premier League. In that match, Newcastle let MU come back and win with a score of 3-2.

The match between Vietnam and Japan in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup will take place at 8:00 p.m. on January 24.