Cong Phuong injured after first training session of Vietnam team; PSG wins Champions League for first time

Cong Phuong injured after the first training session of the Vietnam team

The second training session of the Vietnam National Team on the afternoon of May 31 was missing many players. Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Duc Chien, and Nguyen Dinh Trieu had to practice separately in the gym.

Cong Phuong was injured in the previous training session. This injury is not serious and the Binh Phuoc Club striker can return to training soon. Duc Chien has a sore knee, Dinh Trieu has a back problem, both are not serious problems.

Meanwhile, the players of Hanoi Police Club and Binh Duong - who just played the make-up match of round 23 of V.League 2024-2025 on May 30 have not yet participated. Nguyen Filip, Nguyen Quang Hai, Cao Quang Vinh Pendant, Nguyen Tien Linh, Vo Hoang Minh Khoa will gather tonight (May 31) and start training tomorrow.

Since both Dinh Trieu and Nguyen Filip did not participate in the training session, the Vietnam team only had one goalkeeper, Tran Trung Kien. Coach Kim Sang-sik temporarily brought Cao Van Binh from U22 Vietnam to have enough players for training.

After the first two days of training, the Vietnam National Team received consecutive bad news about its squad. Bui Hoang Viet Anh and Nguyen Thanh Binh both withdrew due to injuries, making the Vietnam National Team's defense squad noticeably thinner. The faces called up to replace them - Dang Van Toi and Pham Ly Duc - have never played for the national team.

Nguyen Tien Linh also suffered an injury before joining the team. The striker's form has not been good recently. He has only scored 2 goals in the last 11 matches for the Vietnam National Team and Binh Duong Club.

Billiard player Bao Phuong Vinh won the International 3-Cushion Carom Billiards Tournament - SCTV Cup 2025

On the evening of May 31, after 6 days of exciting competition, the International 3-Cushion Carom Billiards Tournament - SCTV Cup 2025 officially ended, with the championship belonging to player Bao Phuong Vinh. He defeated Vietnam's number 1 player Tran Quyet Chien with a score of 50-44, after 18 rounds.

Rated higher than his opponent, player Tran Quyet Chien had a pretty good start, with just the first two shots, he led 12-0, including one shot that scored 8 points. Immediately after that, player Bao Phuong Vinh took the lead 16-13 in the 6th shot, then continued to score 4 more points in the 9th shot, bringing the match into halftime with a 25-18 lead.

Entering the second half, player Quyet Chien regained his spirit, with 2 8-point and 7-point shots, he took the lead with a gap of 35-25 compared to Phuong Vinh. The match was full of drama, the atmosphere continuously reversed, the climax of the match was in the 15th turn, player Phuong Vinh scored 5 points, equalized the gap 43-43 and then won the final score with a score of 50-44 after 18 turns.

China and Indonesia have heated debate over naturalization

On June 5, China and Indonesia will face each other in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. And as the match approaches, the two sides are putting more pressure on each other with strong statements.

Before the crucial match, Indonesia received a lot of criticism from the Chinese media. Newspapers all said that Indonesia's use of a team with mostly naturalized players could give them an advantage on the field, but on the contrary, this approach could destroy the motivation of domestic players, especially when using players from Europe who do not have any national identity or colors.

The criticism was so great that the president of the Indonesian Football Federation, Erick Thohir, had to speak up. He alluded to the fact that the Chinese national team also uses many naturalized players, not just Indonesia. Even players like Elkeson, Serginho, Fernandinho... that the Chinese Football Federation has called up do not have the same bloodline as domestic players.

Mr. Thohir said that this is different because Indonesia only naturalizes players with Indonesian blood, inherited from their grandparents and parents. "Many other teams always want to lower the reputation of the Indonesian team. They also naturalize, but their players do not even have Indonesian blood," he said.

"As for us, it is clear that we only naturalize players who have our blood. That is something we should be proud of. If other teams talk about Indonesia, let them talk. They should be the ones to be ashamed. Why? They naturalize players who do not have their blood," Erick Thohir emphasized.

Not only Chinese media, Bahrain also criticized the naturalization plan of the Indonesian team. Bahrain coach Talajic once said: "Indonesia has a population of more than 300 million people but uses a team of all Dutch players."

In total, 23 players have been naturalized in Indonesia in the past four years. The scheme started with Jordi Amat, Sandy Walsh and Shaye Pattynama and the latest case is Ole Romeny in early 2025.

Not only the men's team, the Indonesian Football Federation has also actively naturalized female players. Most recently, PSSI proposed that the government allow four players of Dutch origin to become naturalized to participate in the Southeast Asian women's championship this summer.

PSG won the Champions League for the first time

In the early morning of June 1, PSG rose to the occasion and created the Champions League final with the biggest margin in history.

Contrary to expectations of an exciting match, the match at the Allianz Arena was too one-sided. Goals from Achraf Hakimi (12') and Desrie Doue (20') helped PSG completely dominate the game, and then play with the greatest comfort in the remaining time.

Two quick goals forced Inter to abandon their defensive counter-attacking style of play and deploy a style of play they have never been good at, which is to attack aggressively. On the other side of the front line, PSG did well in all tasks, from attacking first, controlling the game and organizing counter-attacks. In the 64th, 73rd and 86th minutes, Doune, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Mayulu took turns scoring, sealing a resounding 5-0 victory for the French champions.

The final whistle blew with joy for Doue and his teammates. For the fifth time in history, the Allianz Arena witnessed a team reaching the top of Europe for the first time. The person who helped PSG complete the quadruple (Ligue 1, National Cup, French Super Cup, Champions League) was coach Luis Enrique and a squad of young, enthusiastic players.

Antony returns to MU

Early morning of June 1 (Hanoi time), Antony officially said goodbye to Real Betis after 6 months of playing on loan.

"Today, one of the most beautiful chapters of my life ends," Antony wrote on his personal page. "One day, everything collapsed. From heaven to hell. That was when football brought me something different. It was you, the people who made me feel something special. Like coming home. With you, I smiled again."

Since joining Betis in January 2025, Antony has directly contributed to 14 goals for the team. He helped the club finish 6th in La Liga and qualify for the Europa League next season. It was quite a pity for Antony when Betis lost to Chelsea in the Conference League final.

The Brazilian striker returned to Old Trafford but his future with MU is still a question mark. The La Liga representative really wants to keep Antony but cannot afford the 40 million pound price that the "Red Devils" demand.

According to British media, new coach Erik ten Hag has proposed to the Bayer Leverkusen board to recruit two of Antony's former students in this summer's transfer window. His impressive form in Spain has led many to believe that Antony could play well for Leverkusen.

On the contrary, the move to sell Antony is part of a large-scale squad purge that MU plans to carry out in the summer of 2025, in order to create a budget for new transfer targets. Antony once cost MU nearly 100 million euros.