Japanese referee harshly punishes U23 Vietnam against U23 Saudi Arabia

4 out of 10 fouls committed by U23 Vietnam in the match against U23 Saudi Arabia were punished by the referee with 3 yellow cards and 1 red card. U23 Saudi Arabia committed 5 fouls and did not receive a single card.

Japanese referee is strict with U23 Vietnam.

In the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Saudi Arabia, referee Yusuke Araki issued 4 cards out of a total of 10 fouls committed by U23 Vietnam. They were coach Gong Oh Kyun, midfielder Duy Cuong, striker Van Tung and especially goalkeeper Van Chuan who were mercilessly carded by referee Yusuke Araki. Coach Gong Oh Kyun, the Korean coach, was upset when the referee ignored the foul of the Saudi Arabian player and gave the opposing team a throw-in in the 66th minute.

Thirteen minutes later, in an attempt to rush out to stop Feras, goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan received a straight red card. In slow motion, Van Chuan touched the ball with his foot before colliding with Feras. But after carefully consulting VAR, referee Araki confirmed that it was a situation that prevented goalkeeper Van Chuan from having a chance to score for Saudi Arabia.

Coach Al Shehri (U23 Saudi Arabia): "Playing slowly against U23 Vietnam at the end of the match to save energy for the semi-finals"

Saudi Arabia U23 coach Al Shehri explained why his team deliberately played slowly at the end of the match against Vietnam U23 instead of rushing forward to attack. He said that being certain of reaching the semi-finals made the players want to save their energy for the next match.

U23 Vietnam lost 0-2 to U23 Saudi Arabia.

With their superior level, U23 Saudi Arabia won 2-0 against U23 Vietnam. At the end of the match, U23 Saudi Arabia had an extra player after goalkeeper Quan Van Chuan of U23 Vietnam received a red card. However, the Gulf team did not attack aggressively to increase the score gap.

Explaining this, U23 Saudi Arabia coach Al Shehri said: “After the second goal, U23 Saudi Arabia knew that they would reach the semi-finals. Therefore, we proactively played slowly, saving our energy instead of attacking U23 Vietnam. Because in 2 days, the team will play the next match against U23 Australia. Therefore, we tried to keep the ball.”

Switzerland 1-0 Portugal: Painful loss without Ronaldo

On the day Cristiano Ronaldo did not play in the match between Switzerland and Portugal, Fernando Santos' team suffered a 0-1 defeat.

Luckily, Portugal escaped defeat but could not change the result. They attacked furiously but were helpless against the tight defense and the excellence of goalkeeper Omlin on the Swiss side.

The final result of the Switzerland vs Portugal match was 1-0 in favor of the home team. Portugal suffered their first defeat in the 2022/23 Nations League after 2 wins and 1 draw before that. They dropped to 2nd place in Group 2 of League A after Spain won 2-0 against the Czech Republic.

Pogba agrees four-year deal worth €80m with Juventus

Paul Pogba is set to move to Juventus as contract talks near completion. The deal could be worth up to €80m.

Pogba has agreed to return to Juventus.

Pogba will officially leave Man United after his contract expires on June 30. He made 226 appearances in his second spell with the Red Devils, scoring 39 goals and contributing 51 assists.

Despite interest from PSG and Real Madrid, Pogba appears to have agreed to return to Juventus. According to Italian media, the French midfielder will sign a four-year contract with Juventus worth up to €80 million (£68 million).

Khoi Nguyen