The second U23 Vietnam team appeared, not attending SEA Games 31; HAGL aims to get points in the last match

Second Vietnam U23 team appears, not attending SEA Games 31

Besides the force attending SEA Games 31, U23 Vietnam also has another squad gathering to prepare for the U23 Asia finals and ASIAD.

The Vietnam Football Federation announced the list of 24 players to prepare for the U23 Asian Cup finals and the 19th ASIAD. This force is completely different from the squad for the 31st SEA Games. Although these two tournaments limit the age of U23, the players summoned are mainly U21, known as the Vietnam Olympic team.

WhileU23 VietnamCompeting at the 31st SEA Games, the Vietnam Olympic team will train at the Vietnam Youth Football Center. The names called up have all gone through many training sessions of the Vietnam U23 team in the past 2 years and played for the U16 and U19 teams before. Many members were part of the squad that won the Southeast Asian U23 championship earlier this year.

While U23 Vietnam is attending the 31st SEA Games, another U23 team is gathering to prepare for the U23 Asian Cup.

After finishing his duties at the 31st SEA Games, Coach Park Hang Seo is no longer the head coach of the Vietnam U23 and Vietnam Olympic teams. The squad for the 2022 U23 Asian Cup finals and the 19th ASIAD is led by Coach Gong Oh-kyun.

Currently, coach Gong Oh-kyun is working on the coaching staff of the Vietnam U23 team preparing for the 31st SEA Games. Therefore, the training sessions of the Vietnam Olympic team in Hanoi are temporarily in charge of assistants Kim Woo-jae, Luu Danh Minh, Vu Hong Viet and goalkeeper coach Vo Van Hanh.

In addition to preparing for the two upcoming tournaments and aiming for the 32nd SEA Games in 2023, the Vietnam Olympic team gathered this time is also a reserve force for the squad participating in the 31st SEA Games. According to the regulations of the men's football tournament, each team is allowed to replace 15 players from the initial 20-man registration list in case of COVID-19 infection.

"In 2022, U23 Vietnam will have 4 international tournaments: U23 Southeast Asia, SEA Games, U23 Asia and ASIAD. The VFF Executive Committee has proposed to the General Department of Sports and Physical Training to use the U21 team for the U23 Southeast Asia and ASIAD tournaments. This is a stepping stone for the tournaments in 2023 and the following years when the 32nd SEA Games takes place in Cambodia," said VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh.

"Maintaining such a large force of players helps them always stay in playing condition. On the other hand, the coaching staff also knows the players in the expected age group for future tournaments. In addition, this is also an important reserve force if unfortunately there is a case of COVID-19 occurring in U23 Vietnam."

HAGL aims to get points in the last match despite being eliminated

Coach Kiatisuk continues to set the goal of getting points, even a victory for the final match of Group H of the AFC Champion League 2022. "HAGL will try to win to get a good score and show a dedicated playing style in tomorrow's match. I set three goals: keeping the ball, not losing and getting points against Sydney FC".

"HAGLwill play with all their might because it also affects the club's ranking points, football foundation, and the tournament participation of Vietnamese football. I told my students not to lose set-pieces anymore to get points, 1 point is fine but 3 points would be much better," the Thai coach emphasized.

Coach Kiatisuk.

HAGL set a high goal because at this time they do not want to finish the group stage in the last position. Initially, Kiatisuk wanted to bring HAGL to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League 2022 but they were eliminated early after the 4th match. With 2 points along with Sydney FC, the final match will decide the last position in Group H.

To have a large audience cheering during the April 30 - May 1 holiday, HAGL has distributed free tickets at three gates of Thong Nhat Stadium. Audiences who do not leave the city can choose to come to Thong Nhat Stadium at 6pm on May 1 to cheer on HAGL in the final match.

Real Madrid won La Liga

Real Madrid won La Liga four games early after defeating Espanyol 4-0 at home at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid only need a draw at home against Espanyol to secure the La Liga title. Against a team that is certain to stay in the league and has little motivation left, coach Carlo Ancelotti's team completed the task without much difficulty.

This is a match where Real Madrid will not have their strongest squad due to injuries and suspensions. On the other hand, the Bernabeu team also needs to save energy for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Man City. Coach Ancelotti left Toni Kroos, Vinicius and Karim Benzema on the bench, while Casemiro was pulled back to play as a central defender.

Rodrygo scored two goals for Real Madrid. PHOTO: GETTY

The match statistics seem odd, with Espanyol having more shots. The visitors had 20 attempts on Real Madrid’s goal, while Ancelotti’s men only managed half that number. The scoreboard was also very different, but in the opposite direction.

Real Madrid beat Espanyol 4-0. Rodrygo scored twice in the first half. Marco Asensio and Benzema added two more goals for the home team in the second half to create a resounding victory to welcome the 2021/22 La Liga championship.

Real Madrid have 81 points after 34 games. Real Madrid have 25 wins, 6 draws and only 3 losses. They have the most wins and the fewest losses in La Liga this season.

Coach Ancelotti's team is 17 points ahead of second-placed Sevilla with only 4 rounds left in the season. No team can catch up with Real Madrid. This is the 35th La Liga championship for the Bernabeu team.

Meanwhile, Espanyol have 39 points. The Barcelona team is in 13th place, 9 points above the relegation zone and does not have to worry much about falling into the danger zone.

Up to now, in the top 5 European leagues (England, France, Italy, Spain, Germany), 3 have determined the champion. PSG won Ligue 1, Bayern Munich won Bundesliga and Real Madrid won La Liga.

'Super agent' Mino Raiola passes away at age 54

Late last night (April 30), the football world received sad news when "super agent" Mino Raiola passed away at the age of 54 due to a serious illness.

Mino Raiola, the super agent for football stars such as Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Erling Haaland, has died at the age of 54, just two days after denying reports of his own death.

On Thursday evening (April 28), a series of international media outlets reported that Raiola had passed away. Less than an hour after the news spread, Raiola's relatives denied it was fake news, saying that Raiola was fighting for his life and had not passed away.

Raiola's official Twitter account also tweeted: "Current health status for those wondering: Frustrating, for the second time in 4 months, they kill me."

Now, Mino Raiola is really gone. PHOTO: GETTY

But now he has truly left this world. Raiola's family confirmed that he passed away at the age of 54 after a serious illness. A statement from the Raiola family read: "With immense sadness we share the passing of the greatest football agent who ever lived.

Mino Raiola fought until the very end as he put his energy on the negotiating table to protect our players. As usual, Mino made us proud and never realized it.

Mino touched so many lives through his work and wrote a new chapter in the history of modern football. His presence is forever missed. Mino's mission was to make football a better place for players to continue with their passion."

Raiola, who also represents Marco Verratti, Matthijs de Ligt and Gianluigi Donnarumma, was previously hospitalised earlier this year but did not reveal what he was suffering from. He underwent surgery in January.

Mino Raiola's fortune is estimated at £68m, according to Forbes. Raiola was expected to have a busy summer, with the two superstars he represents, Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, finding new clubs. But now all of Raiola's work is out of the question.