Vietnam team receives good news before match against Syria; Lukaku angry with Chelsea

Ronaldo didn't score, Portugal still won in EURO 2024 qualifiers

In the third round of the EURO 2024 qualifiers, Portugal will host Bosnia & Herzegovina at home. Winning both first two matches, Ronaldo and his teammates are aiming for the next 3 points to solidify their position at the top of Group J.

In the first half, Portugal was the team that took the initiative. In the 23rd minute, Ronaldo headed the ball into the net of Bosnia & Herzegovina but the goal was disallowed due to offside.

However, the home team still took the lead before the first half ended. In the 44th minute, Bruno Fernandes passed the ball to Bernardo Silva for a delicate finish to open the scoring.

Bruno Fernandes shines brightly to help Portugal win 3 stars. Photo: Getty

In the second half, the game continued to be favorable for Portugal. Coach Roberto Martinez's players had 59% ball possession in this half and had 5 shots. 2 of them were converted into goals.

In the 77th minute, receiving a cross from Ruben Neves on the right wing, Bruno Fernandes jumped high and headed the ball accurately, raising the score to 2-0 for Portugal. In the extra minutes, the midfielder currently playing for MU completed his double with a tricky shot, sealing a 3-0 victory for the home team.

The 3 points just won help Portugal continue to lead Group J of the EURO 2024 qualifiers with 9 absolute points after 3 matches. Meanwhile, the 2nd consecutive defeat pushed Bosnia & Herzegovina down to 4th place.

Vietnam team's schedule at the 2023 AFC U17 Championship finals

According to the results of the draw,Vietnam U17 teamin Group D with opponents U17 Japan, U17 India and U17 Uzbekistan at the 2023 AFC U17 Championship finals.

The tournament is held at 4 stadiums including Rajamangala, Pathum Thani, Thammasat and Chonburi (Thailand) from June 15 to July 2.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team entered the final round as group winners. In the qualifying round, the young players won all their matches, scoring 12 goals without conceding.

Vietnam's match schedule at the 2023 AFC U17 Championship finals. Photo: BTT

According to the match schedule, U17 Vietnam will face U17 India on June 17, U17 Japan on June 20 and U17 Uzbekistan on June 23. The goal of Coach Hoang Anh Tuan and his team is to aim for a ticket to the final round of the U17 World Cup 2023.

At the 2023 AFC U17 Championship, the teams will compete in a round robin format. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will take place on June 25 and 26. The semi-finals will take place on June 29 and the final will take place at 7 p.m. on July 2.

According to the regulations, the four semi-finalists will qualify for the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup finals in October.

Vietnam women's team has optimal tactics for World Cup

Evaluating the two recent friendly matches in Germany, Coach Mai Duc Chung affirmed: “We must compete with tall opponents with good speed so that when competing with the US, Netherlands and Portugal women's teams, we will not be surprised. These matches will be valuable experience for the players when they reach the 2023 Women's World Cup finals,” Coach Mai Duc Chung emphasized.

“Experts also agree with me that, with the difference in physique, if we are 50-50 with the other team, we will be at a disadvantage. We have to play more defensively to prevent high balls and combinations from the opponent, from there we can close in and counterattack quickly. Besides, there are still many bad passes and some positions are not good at rotating and coordinating changes. We will need to practice more carefully,” added Coach Mai Duc Chung.

Vietnam women's team actively training.

Yesterday afternoon's friendly match was also the first time Coach Mai Duc Chung used Chuong Thi Kieu again, a player who had just returned from injury. The strategist revealed: "Kieu is recovering well and quickly, but if we only practice and recover, it is not enough, so I arranged for Kieu to enter the field for the last 15 minutes of the match when the team already had the score so that this player could get used to it and feel the space of the field again. I also watched and saw that when Chuong Thi Kieu was there, the defense was more stable. This player can command and remind her teammates. Of course, in terms of expertise, she still needs to practice more to be stable as before."

On the morning of June 17, the Vietnam Women's Team traveled to Poland to prepare for a friendly match with the Polish U23 Women's Team on June 19.

Lukaku is angry with Chelsea, insisting on leaving

Lukaku played relatively well for Inter Milan in the 2022/2023 season. The Belgian striker contributed 14 goals and 7 assists in all competitions for the blue half of Milan, helping the team reach the final of the European Cup 1 and win the Coppa Italia.

Lukaku's loan contract with Inter Milan has now expired. Therefore, the striker born in 1993 must return to his parent club Chelsea. According to The Telegraph, Lukaku does not want to return to Chelsea but wants to continue playing for Inter Milan.

Lukaku wants to leave Chelsea. Photo: Getty

However, Chelsea are hesitant in Lukaku's case. Coach Mauricio Pochettino's team is looking to buy a new striker and the one on the transfer list is Villarreal's Nicolas Jackson, who has a contract termination clause of 35 million Euros.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea prioritized the purchase of Nicolas Jackson before finalizing Lukaku's future, which made the Belgian striker angry. Currently, Lukaku's contract with Chelsea still expires in the summer of 2026.

Vietnam team receives good news before match against Syria

With a 1-0 victory over Hong Kong (China) in a friendly match on June 15, the Vietnamese team was awarded 3.4 points, thereby moving up one place to 94th in the world. This position gives coach Philippe Troussier and his team an advantage before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Specifically, if they maintain their position in Asia's top 18, the "Golden Star Warriors" will be in the second seed group and avoid strong teams in the continent.

This is the temporary position of the football-ranking website FIFA daily rankings. The positions will change after the remaining matches of FIFA Days in June.

Vietnam team gets extra points on FIFA rankings.

Thus, the ranking of the Vietnamese team will be decided after the upcoming match against Syria. As long as the result is a draw, the Vietnamese team will continue to receive points.

This match is a big challenge for Coach Troussier's team. In the match against Hong Kong, although they won, the Vietnamese team did not show a new and positive style of play.

The match between Vietnam and Syria will take place at 6:30 p.m. on June 20 at Thien Truong Stadium (Nam Dinh).