Vietnamese players enter the semi-finals of the world championship; England and Italy disappoint in the EURO 2024 qualifiers

Vietnamese players enter semi-finals of 2023 World Championship

Vietnamese billiard player Tran Quyet Chien excellently defeated Marco Zanetti (Italy, world number 2) on the evening of September 9 (Vietnam time) to enter the semi-finals of the 3-cushion carom billiards world championship held in Ankara (Türkiye).

Previously, in the round of 16 on the afternoon of September 9, player Tran Quyet Chien (ranked 10th in the world) easily defeated Mexican player Javier Vera (ranked 58th in the world) with a score of 50-34 to advance to the semi-finals. The next opponent of the Vietnamese player, Zanetti, is considered a candidate for the championship when world number 1 player Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) was eliminated.

Facing a very strong opponent, Tran Quyet Chien entered the game very confidently and showed his mettle. A series of steady points helped Tony Tran (nickname of Tran Quyet Chien) make the world's number 2 player wary. Taking advantage of his opponent's poor performance, Tran Quyet Chien scored a series of 11 points to take the lead 26-13 and bring the match to halftime.

After the break, the Italian player tried hard to score points to keep up with Tran Quyet Chien. Two series of 6 points were still not enough to help Zanetti regain the game as the Vietnamese player still played at a very high level. Tran Quyet Chien's steady scoring and excellent "closing of the ball" helped him win convincingly with a score of 50-34 after 25 turns.

Tran Quyet Chien's semi-final opponent today (September 10) will be Tayfun Tasdemir (Türkiye, world No. 7), who defeated Eddy Merckx (Belgium, world No. 8) in the other quarter-final.

Determining the runner-up team of the 2023 National U19 Women's Tournament

The highlight of round 9 is the match between Phong Phu Ha Nam and Ha Noi. Having won the championship 2 rounds early, coach Tran Le Thuy still fielded the strongest lineup. The home team hopes to extend their winning streak. Although a bit disappointed because they ran out of chances to catch up with their opponents, Ha Noi still played with determination against Phong Phu Ha Nam.

In the first half, the two teams created an attractive attacking game. Both sides had equal chances but the strikers unfortunately missed them. Hanoi understood that they still needed a win to secure the second place in the rankings.

In the second half, the Capital team played better. Captain Nguyen Thi Thom continuously asked her teammates to push up and look for goals. But on a day lacking in luck in front of the opponent's goal, Hanoi had to accept a goalless draw.

In the remaining match on September 9, Ho Chi Minh City faced Vietnam Coal and Minerals (Than KSVN). This season is not the time when the mining team has good form. With stars like Bao Tram and Nhat Lan, Than KSVN could only get a 0-0 draw against Ho Chi Minh City.

With this result, Hanoi is the runner-up, Ho Chi Minh City won the Bronze Medal in the 2023 National U19 Women's Football Championship.

England and Italy disappointed in EURO 2024 qualifiers

In the EURO 2024 qualifying round on September 10, both England and Italy could not win against opponents that were rated lower.

Despite being rated higher, England could not win against Ukraine. In this match, Oleksandr Zinchenko gave Ukraine the lead in the 26th minute. In the 41st minute, Kyle Walker scored the equalizer 1-1 for the Three Lions after an assist from Harry Kane.

If they had been luckier, England could have completed the comeback when Bukayo Saka hit the crossbar in the 59th minute. In the end, coach Gareth Southgate and his team had to accept a draw in the match at Stadion Miejski Wroclaw (Poland).

In the remaining match of the 5th round of Group C, the Italian team disappointed when they dropped a victory against the North Macedonia team on the debut day of coach Luciano Spaletti.

Italy opened the scoring through Ciro Immobile in the 47th minute, but could not defend the result when Enis Bardhi scored in the 81st minute. The 1-1 draw against the underdogs left the reigning EURO champions still in third place in Group C with 4 points, 3 and 9 points behind the two teams above them, Ukraine and England, respectively.

Germany extends winless streak

In the friendly match in the early morning of September 10 (Vietnam time), the German team continued to have a weak match against the Samurai spirit of the Japanese team, even losing more heavily than in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.

With the determination to avenge the defeat at the end of last year and the home field advantage, it was not surprising that the German team took the initiative to control the game. However, the German tank had not yet stabilized its formation before conceding a goal in the 11th minute. From a not-so-dangerous attack on the right wing, Junya Ito made Rudiger fumble and the German center-back made Ter Stegen unable to control the situation.

After conceding the goal, Germany pushed up their formation to find an equalizer and their efforts were rewarded with a goal in the 19th minute by Leroy Sane. It seemed like the home team would regain control of the game but the Samurai warriors once again rubbed Die Mannschaft the wrong way with a second goal just 3 minutes later, scored by Ayase Ueda.

In the second half, the game still belonged to the German team when they continuously pressed the field against Japan but all showed no luck in front of the goal of the team from the land of the Rising Sun. Coach Hansi Flick made changes in the attack line to find an equalizer but all were neutralized by the concentrated defense of the Japanese team. Meanwhile, the home team's defense continuously showed loopholes and Ter Stegen's goal continuously had to face sharp counterattacks from the Samurai warriors. As a result, Japan took advantage of those mistakes and scored 2 goals in a row against the German team, thereby securing the final victory with a score of 4-1.

Medvedev eliminates Alcaraz in US Open semi-finals

Third seed Daniil Medved beat number one Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a US Open 2023 final against Novak Djokovic.

Medvedev played almost perfectly in the first two sets, but Alcaraz won the third. Before the match, the Spaniard had won all five matches in five sets at Flushing Meadows. However, Medvedev did not give the young player a chance to go to the fifth set.

In the deciding fourth set, the 27-year-old used a strategy of sitting back to return serves, while Alcaraz wanted to serve and then finish. However, the third seed returned the ball better, eventually forcing his opponent to make an error at the net and winning the return game. His better serve also helped the 1.98m tall player defend break points, setting up a final against Djokovic.