AFC sends congratulatory letter to Vietnam U20 women's team; Arsenal receives bad news regarding Kai Havertz.

AFC sends congratulatory letter to Vietnam's U20 women's team for qualifying for the 2026 AFC U20 Championship.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) announced that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has sent a congratulatory letter to the Vietnam U20 women's team after they won Group B in the qualifying round and officially qualified for the 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship Finals.

In the letter, the AFC emphasized the determination and dedication of the Vietnamese U20 women's team, which were clearly demonstrated in the qualifying matches, contributing to the impressive achievements of Vietnamese youth women's football.

In addition to congratulations, the AFC extends its sincere thanks to the VFF and the local organizing committee for successfully hosting the Group B qualifying round from August 6 to 10 in Hanoi.

The AFC highly appreciates the dedication, professionalism, and thorough preparation in organizing and managing the tournament, as well as the warm welcome extended to the AFC officials and participating teams.

In conclusion, the AFC once again wished the Vietnam U20 women's team continued success and looked forward to seeing them again at the AFC U20 Women's Championship in April 2026 in Thailand.

In the qualifying round for the 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship, the Vietnam U20 women's team will compete in Hanoi against Kyrgyzstan, Hong Kong (China), and Singapore in Group B.

After three matches, coach Okiyama Masahiki's team defeated Singapore 5-0, Hong Kong (China) 6-0, and Kyrgyzstan 3-0. This result gave the Vietnam U20 women's team a perfect 9 points, securing first place in the group and becoming the only representative from the group to qualify for the finals.

The 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship Finals will take place from April 1st to 18th, 2026. The four best-performing teams in the 2026 AFC U20 Women's Championship Finals will represent Asia at the 2026 U20 Women's World Cup held in Poland.

The Vietnamese women's volleyball team encountered problems before the world championship.

According to the schedule, after flying from Noi Bai Airport to Bangkok, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team will continue their journey to Phuket - the venue for the 2025 World Championship.

However, due to a delay in their flight from Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok) to Phuket, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team only arrived at their base camp in Phuket late in the evening of August 20th. Including travel and waiting time, Thanh Thúy and her teammates spent approximately 12 hours in total.

This incident has left the coaching staff and athletes feeling somewhat exhausted. However, everyone must overcome it to be as well-prepared as possible for the upcoming World Championships.

According to the plan, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team will have at least two training sessions before their opening match against Poland on August 23rd. Facing a very strong opponent ranked 3rd in the world, the goal of coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet's team is to learn, gain experience, and give their best performance.

According to Le Tri Truong, General Secretary of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation (VFV), the Vietnamese women's volleyball team is not placing too much emphasis on achieving high results in their first participation in the world championship. The team views this tournament in Thailand as an opportunity to best prepare for the 33rd SEA Games later this year, with the goal of winning a gold medal.

The question on many people's minds is who will replace Bich Tuyen at opposite hitter, after the 2000-born hitter withdrew. Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet affirmed that he and the coaching staff have the most suitable plan, and hope this choice can maximize her potential at the world championships.

Hanoi Police FC lost to BG Pathum, Thailand, despite playing with a man advantage.

On the evening of August 20th, Hanoi Police FC suffered a 1-2 defeat against BG Pathum United (Thailand) in their opening match of Group A at the ASEAN Club Championship 2025-2026.

Despite playing away from home, Hanoi Police FC surprised everyone with the opening goal in the first half. In the 20th minute, Leo Artur made a through pass from midfield, penetrating two layers of BG Pathum players to set up Alan Sebastiao, who raced down to face the BG Pathum goalkeeper. The Hanoi Police FC striker didn't miss the opportunity to put his team ahead.

Following this goal, Hanoi Police FC gained momentum and created several more opportunities to threaten the home team's goal in the first half, but failed to capitalize. The most regrettable moment was Le Van Do's close-range shot in the 31st minute, which hit the opposing goalkeeper.

Trailing behind, BG Pathum faced further difficulties when striker Matheus Fornazari received a red card in the 43rd minute after kicking Bui Hoang Viet Anh directly in the face during an aerial challenge.

In the second half, BG Pathum brought on Thai national team star Chanathip Songkrasin to replace Ekanit Panya. The player dubbed "Thai Messi" immediately showcased his class by scoring the equalizer.

In the 58th minute, Chanathip surged forward from his own half to join a counter-attack down the right wing. He executed a basic turn and shot with his left foot, easily beating center-back Adou Minh and goalkeeper Nguyen Filip to make it 1-1.

Despite playing with ten men, BG Pathum still caused many difficulties for Hanoi Police Club. They organized their defense tightly, waiting for opportunities to launch fast and accurate counter-attacks.

In the 90+7th minute, after an unsuccessful attack by Hanoi Police FC, BG Pathum delivered the finishing blow. Chanathip received the ball in the middle of the field, noticed Nguyen Filip had advanced, and shot directly at the goal, leaving the Vietnamese national team goalkeeper helpless and securing a 2-1 victory.

Arsenal receive bad news regarding Kai Havertz.

Arsenal have received bad news regarding star player Kai Havertz, as the German player will be sidelined for some time due to a knee injury.

According to The Athletic, Havertz did not participate in the open training session at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday morning. The assessment is still in its early stages, so the extent of the injury remains unclear.

Football expert Fabrizio Romano also recently updated the situation of the 26-year-old German player: "Kai Havertz has suffered a knee injury and the Arsenal coaching staff will assess the situation in the next few hours. Arsenal are considering signing new players following Havertz's latest injury."

Havertz's injury has forced Arsenal's management to actively explore the transfer market to strengthen their attack and compensate for the absence of the German star.

New signing Viktor Gyokeres is currently the only striker confirmed fit and available to play in Mikel Arteta's squad. Leandro Trossard, who recently signed a new contract, has also been deployed as a striker despite his origins as a winger.

Gabriel Jesus, a tried and tested option, is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in January and is not expected to return anytime soon.

This is Havertz's second injury in 2025, following a hamstring tear at training camp in Dubai in February. That injury kept him out of 18 Premier League and Champions League matches before he returned with two substitute appearances in Arsenal's final two Premier League games. During that time, midfielder Mikel Merino was deployed in the number 9 position.

Havertz came on as a substitute for Gyokeres at half-time in Arsenal's Premier League opening match on Sunday, a game Arsenal won 1-0 against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The German has made 88 appearances for Arsenal since joining from Chelsea in the summer of 2023, scoring 29 goals.

Newcastle could lose a lot of money because of Isak.

Alexander Isak's rebellion to leave could cost Newcastle up to £2.28 million in wages for a player who isn't playing.

According to the Daily Mail, Isak has not joined the squad for individual training sessions since Newcastle returned from their pre-season tour in Asia. The Swedish striker also did not feature in the first Premier League match of the season, when Newcastle drew 0-0 with Aston Villa on August 16th.

With a contract extending until 2028, Isak currently earns £120,000 per week at St James' Park. If he continues to be absent from the pitch until January, Newcastle will have to pay £2.28 million for his absence. Furthermore, Newcastle will find it difficult to sell Isak for the £150 million they are hoping for.

According to the rules, the club can fine a player up to two weeks' salary for a first serious offense, and four weeks' salary for subsequent offenses within a 12-month period. However, it is unclear whether Isak's behavior was serious enough to warrant punishment from Newcastle under this regulation.

In a statement on Instagram on the evening of August 19th, Isak shared: "Promises have been broken and the club has known my position for a long time. When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship cannot continue. That is where I stand right now."

In response, Newcastle insisted the Swedish striker was still under contract and there had been no commitment allowing him to leave this summer.