Mr. Duc's 'treasure' shines in U23 Southeast Asia; AFC talks about the news that Malaysia is banned from competing
HAGL's bright talent scored the first goal for U23 Vietnam in the decisive match against U23 Cambodia; Malaysia was suspended by FIFA until 2027... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
AFC talks about Malaysia's ban
The Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Mr. Datuk Seri Windsor Paul, spoke out about the information that Malaysian football received a penalty.
The New Straits Times recently reported that an Indonesian football expert made shocking accusations about the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
This expert believes that Malaysian football could face a FIFA ban until 2027 for violating rules on player naturalization.
According to expert Justinus Lhaksana, also known as coach Justin, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) "circumvented the law" in the process of naturalizing South American players by using fake genealogical documents.
He announced on his personal YouTube channel HY Sport that Malaysia has been suspended by FIFA until 2027, although there has been no official confirmation from the organization or the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Mr. Justin Lhaksana added that Malaysian football is still allowed to participate in the Southeast Asian U23 Championship, because this tournament is not recognized by FIFA.
Most recently, the New Straits Times (Malaysia) reported that AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor Paul has denied these rumors and affirmed that all issues related to player status are the jurisdiction of the World Football Federation (FIFA) and not the AFC.
Mr. Duc's "treasure" shines in U23 Southeast Asia
HAGL's bright talent scored the first goal for U23 Vietnam in the decisive match against U23 Cambodia in the U23 Southeast Asia.
In the 35th minute, the HAGL midfielder jumped high and headed the ball into the U23 Cambodia net after a corner kick by Van Khang. That goal not only opened the score for U23 Vietnam, but also affirmed the class of a name once considered an "unknown" in V.League.
This goal is very important for U23 Vietnam, because coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are competing for a ticket to the semi-finals with U23 Cambodia.
Before that, in the 20th minute, Ly Duc also scored a goal against Cambodia with a beautiful flying header after a cross from the right wing. The referee raised his flag for offside, but slow-motion replays showed that he was level with or even above the last defender of the opponent, a regrettable situation.
U23 Vietnam completely dominated the game, but it is worth mentioning that almost all dangerous opportunities came from Ly Duc's strong point in the air.
Ly Duc is not a famous player. Two seasons ago, he was an unknown central defender in Ba Ria - Vung Tau. 1,794 minutes of playing football in the First Division, no one mentioned his name. But with a height of 1m84, the ability to choose a position and play with the head very well, Ly Duc quietly proved himself to be a true "warrior" in the 16m50 area.
Arsenal go big with Gyokeres
After three consecutive seasons finishing second in the Premier League, Arsenal seem to have run out of patience with “smart” but not yet strong enough contracts. Most recently, they have signed Gyokeres.
Gyokeres, 27, has made a splash in Portugal since leaving Coventry City to join Sporting in the summer of 2023. In just two seasons, he has scored 68 and 65 goals - a staggering figure at a rate of more than a goal per game in the Primeira Liga.
His shot accuracy was 54.6%, he converted 61% of big chances, and he exceeded his expected goals (xG) by +14.4 - a statistic that clearly reflects his coolness and efficiency in front of goal.
In the 2024/25 Champions League season alone, Gyokeres maintained an efficiency of 2.9 shots per game, of which 1.7 were on target, achieving a conversion rate of 31.58% and scoring an average of 0.9 goals/game. He also had 1.2 successful dribbles and won 1.7 fouls per game, demonstrating his ability to put pressure and create breakthroughs in the penalty area.
Despite 17 goals coming from the penalty spot (100% success rate), even if you take this number out, Gyokeres is still among the most efficient strikers in Europe.
Coach Gyotoku Koji: "The gap between Vietnam and Cambodia is too big"
Coach Gyotoku Koji said that the gap between U23 Vietnam and U23 Cambodia was too big, so he was not surprised when his students lost to the "golden star warriors".
“Before the match, I knew it would be difficult because U23 Vietnam is a very strong team. Each individual is very good and the whole team is well organized. The difference between U23 Vietnam and Cambodia is huge,” coach Gyotoku Koji shared at the press conference after the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Cambodia on the evening of July 22.
“Vietnam is much stronger than us. Their individual skills are excellent. Their tactics are very good. Players number 7 (Dinh Bac), number 8 (Van Truong), number 11 (Van Khang), number 20 (Anh Quan) are all very good,” Mr. Koji added.
Although he stopped at U23 Southeast Asia, coach Gyotoku Koji said this will be a playground for his students to gain experience.
