Former Nam Dinh coach leads Saudi Arabia team; Mbappe considered a 'disaster'

Mbappe is considered a "disaster"

French media unanimously criticized Kylian Mbappe after Real Madrid's 0-4 defeat to Barcelona in round 11 of La Liga in the early morning of October 27 (Hanoi time).

Performance byMbappein the first El Clasico of his career became the focus of the French media. Headlines such as "A night to forget", "Failure in El Clasico" and "Offside record"..., appeared all over the pages of newspapers in France.

L'Equipe focused on the number of times Mbappe was flagged offside - an unprecedented record, far surpassing his own previous record. The article wrote: "Mbappe thought he had scored with a precise shot in the 30th minute, but was caught offside. With a total of eight offsides, Mbappe broke his own record at PSG (six), against Pays de Cassel in the Coupe de France in 2023 and Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 2021."

Meanwhile, RMC Sport did not hesitate to call Mbappe's performance a "disaster", emphasizing the number of consecutive offside calls, with 2 goals being denied. This newspaper assessed that despite possessing outstanding ability, Mbappe did not show effectiveness in the role of center forward. RMC Sport commented that Real Madrid's attack can only make a difference if Mbappe knows how to adjust his playing style appropriately.

Le Parisien also made negative comments about Mbappe's performance. "After only 2 minutes, Mbappe was caught offside. This scenario was repeated 4 times (minutes 12, 15, 19, and 25) in the first half, causing Mbappe to gradually lose patience. Coach Ancelotti was also confused with the new player," Le Parisien described. The Paris-based newspaper also called it a "classic defeat" for the French star, a headline reflecting great disappointment for the player they had once praised so much.

French media have concluded that Mbappe seems to be far from the best form he ever had when playing for PSG. For many, the player has not shown the image of the explosive star that was expected when he joined Real Madrid.

Former Nam Dinh coach leads Saudi Arabia team

With only 1 win in 4 matches played, the home team was relegated to 3rd/6 in Group C in the 3rd qualifying round.World Cup 2026, Italian coach Roberto Mancini has voluntarily resigned after reaching an agreement with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

Just two days later, the new head coach position of the West Asian team was announced. It was 56-year-old French strategist, Herve Renard.

Renard's contract will run until 2025, with an option to extend until the 2027 Asian Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia for the first time.

Mr. Herve Renard led the Saudi Arabian team from July 2019 to March 2023, helping the team qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Also at this tournament, the French coach made history when he and the West Asian team defeated Argentina (the eventual champion) with a score of 2-1 in the group stage.

Notably, in his 24-year coaching career, Mr. Herve Renard once led Nam Dinh Club to participate in V.League 2004. The strategist born in 1968 is also a rare person to lead both the men's and women's teams to participate in the World Cup.

Returning to the "hot seat" of the Saudi Arabian national team, Mr. Herve Renard is expected to help the team play well in the next two matches against Australia and Indonesia in November, opening up the opportunity to win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, as they did successfully 4 years ago.

Ranking of second-place teams in the 2025 AFC U17 qualifiers: Is Vietnam U17 at a big disadvantage?

According to AFC regulations, the 2025 AFC U17 Championship qualifiers will have 10 group winners directly qualify for the AFC U17 Championship finals in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the 5 best second-placed teams will win the remaining tickets. Due to the sudden withdrawal of U17 Lebanon, the results of the 4th-placed teams (group of 4 teams) and 4th and 5th-placed teams (group of 5 teams) will not be counted.

U17 Vietnam is currently second in Group I with 4 points after 2 matches. Coach Cristiano Roland's team is ranked 9th/10th in the ranking of the second-placed teams with the best results. In case they do not win against U17 Yemen, U17 Vietnam will be at a disadvantage when comparing their results with the second-placed teams.

If we consider the achievements of the second-placed teams, the Vietnamese team currently has only 1 point (not counting the victory over Myanmar). Up to now, 8 out of 10 second-placed teams have 3 points, so there is almost no chance to win.U17 Vietnamgo through if second place.

It is easy to see that if they cannot win against U17 Yemen, Tran Gia Bao and his teammates will face the risk of stopping early in the Asian tournament.

Laos has "special" preparations for the match against Vietnam at ASEAN Cup 2024

At the ASEAN Cup 2024, the Laos team is one of the opponents in the group stage of the Vietnam team. This group also includes Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar. The first match on December 9 will take place between the Laos team and the Vietnam team in Vientiane (Laos).

Right now, the Lao National Team has started to have "special" things for the ASEAN Cup 2024. Accordingly, during the FIFA Days in November, the Lao National Team will have a training trip to Thailand and play a friendly match with the Thai National Team at Thammasat Stadium. This will also be the first official match of the Lao National Team under the leadership of Korean coach - Ha Hyeok Jun.

Previously, during the FIFA Days series in September and October, the Lao team only "closed the door" to practice and did not play friendly matches. Coach Ha Hyeok Jun increased physical training for the Lao players during this time.

In the most recent gathering, the Lao team consisted mainly of domestic players plus some players currently playing in Thailand and Cambodia. The "Lao expatriate" players who had previously participated in the AFF Cup or SEA Games were not on the team.

Football results today 10/28: Arsenal draws with Liverpool, dramatic Inter vs Juve