Border Guard Volleyball Team Wins National Championship for the Fourth Time; Big Surprise in 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers

Border Volleyball won the national championship for the 4th time

Defeating The Cong-Tan Cang with a score of 3-2, the MB Border Volleyball Club successfully defended the national volleyball championship title.

On the evening of October 15, at Ninh Binh Provincial Gymnasium, the men's final of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship took place between two Army clubs, namely Border Guard MB and The Cong-Tan Cang.

The match was dramatic, both teams were chasing each point, but Rivan made the difference to help The Cong-Tan Cang win set 1 with a score of 25-21.

Despite being continuously behind in set 2, Van Hiep and Ngoc Thuan shone to help MB Border Guard win dramatically 31-29, to balance the score 1-1.

On the rise, coach Tran Dinh Tien and his team easily won set 3 with a score of 25-20, but The Cong-Tan Cang quickly regained their spirit to win 26-24 in set 4, equalizing the score 2-2.

In set 5, MB Border Guard showed stability when continuously taking the lead to win 15-12, thereby winning 3-2 overall.

Border Guard MB became the third team in history to successfully defend the national championship (after Ho Chi Minh City and Trang An Ninh Binh). This is the fourth championship in the history of Border Guard volleyball, including the second consecutive championship.

Big surprise in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers

The 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers saw two teams that had received little attention, the Philippines and Singapore, suddenly rise strongly.

The brightest star at the moment is Bjorn Martin Kristensen - 23-year-old striker of the Philippines team. After only 4 matches, Kristensen has scored 8 goals, topping the list of top scorers in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, 2 goals more than Nasser Al-Gahwashi of Yemen.

With such brilliant form, the striker of Filipino-Danish blood breathes new life into the team that has only participated in the Asian Cup once in its history (in 2019). Fans of the island now have the right to dream of a second ticket thanks to the young, explosive and ambitious scoring machine.

After 4 rounds, the Philippines is at the top of Group A with 10 points and has not lost any match. The big match with the second-placed team Tajikistan in March 2026 will likely decide the ticket to the biggest football festival in Asia.

Also in Southeast Asia, Singapore is on the threshold of history. Since the tournament's inception in 1956, "The Lions" have never qualified, except for the 1984 edition when they were the hosts. But now, the Lion Island team is level on points with Hong Kong (China) at the top - 8 points after 4 matches, and has a great chance of returning to the continental stage after more than 4 decades.

While the Philippines are flying high thanks to Kristensen's form, Singapore relies on a resilient team and the consistent form of mainstay Song Ui-Young, who is also in the top 5 scorers of the qualifying round with 3 goals.

World Cup 2026: 9 African teams qualify directly, 1 team competes for a play-off ticket

According to a VNA reporter in Africa, the African regional qualifiers have ended and nine national teams have officially won tickets to the 2026 World Cup, an expanded tournament that will be co-hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Algeria won a ticket to the World Cup after 12 years.

In addition to the nine group winners who will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, the four second-placed teams with the best results in the qualifying round will participate in the African play-off round in Morocco.

Morocco topped Group E with 24 points, winning all 8 matches, becoming the first African team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This will be the 6th time Morocco has participated in the World Cup, after reaching the semi-finals in 2022.

Algeria topped Group G with 25 points after 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Egypt topped Group A with 26 points, 8 wins and 2 draws, 0 losses. Mohamed Salah had 12 direct or indirect goalscoring contributions. Tunisia booked their place at the 2026 World Cup thanks to a late goal.

Ghana leads Group I with 25 points, 6 points more than Madagascar. South Africa qualified for the 2026 World Cup by topping Group H.

Senegal topped Group B with 24 points, after 7 wins and 3 draws; this is the third consecutive time Senegal has participated in the World Cup. Cape Verde made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time.

The final African play-off round to determine the 10th place at the 2026 World Cup will be a four-team knockout stage, held in Morocco. The four best runners-up in the qualifying round will participate.

The play-off semi-finals will take place on November 13 and the final on November 16. Gabon will play Nigeria while the Democratic Republic of Congo will host Cameroon. The two semi-final winners will meet in the final, with the winner advancing to the intercontinental play-offs, with teams from Asia, CONCACAF, Oceania, etc., to compete for the final two spots at the 2026 World Cup.

Messi crosses out Yamal

Lionel Messi attracted attention when he removed Lamine Yamal's name from the "Messi+10" list, a project to honor the world's top 10 young talents that he personally selected with Adidas.

Argentine legend Lionel Messi has just launched the second season of the "Messi+10" project with Adidas, to honor and accompany 10 young stars with the potential to become the next generation of world football.

Notably, Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Franco Mastantuono (Real Madrid) are absent. However, Spanish media believe that this is Messi's intention because they have quickly affirmed their star status. "Messi + 10" therefore focuses on faces that are on the border between potential and breakthrough.

According to the announced list, Nico Paz (Argentina, Como) is the most prominent face. This attacking midfielder who grew up at Real Madrid is considered the "natural heir" of Messi in terms of his intelligent, smooth playing style and always knows how to make a difference.

Besides that, there are rough diamonds from all continents including Kendry Paez (Ecuador, Chelsea), Rio Ngumoha (England, Liverpool), Mohamed Kader Meite (France, Rennes), Brajan Gruda (Germany, Brighton), Mika Godts (Belgium, Ajax), Rodrigo Mora (Portugal, FC Porto) and Andrey Santos (Brazil, Chelsea).

Notably, the list also includes two female players – Clara Serrajordi (Barcelona, ​​Spain) and Lily Yohannes (Lyon, USA) – demonstrating Leo's comprehensive vision of honoring talent regardless of gender or borders.

The "Messi+10" project is a campaign about responsibility to inspire. Messi - the shy boy who was brought onto the field by Barcelona two decades ago, now stands in the role of supporting the next generation, those who carry the same dream as he once had.

For Messi, this is how he conveys his vision: "Football always needs the next person. I just help them see the path I once walked."