Earthquake in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia; Vietnam team receives bad news from FIFA

Earthquake in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia

On the evening of September 5, Bahrain created a shock when they defeated host Australia 1-0 in the first match of Group C, Round 3 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Bahrain is ranked 80th in the FIFA rankings, far below the current ranking of host team Australia (24). Before the match, experts all said that Bahrain would find it difficult to create a surprise when playing away against an opponent that is rated higher in every aspect.

At home, Australia dominated the game with 67% possession and 11 shots. However, all efforts of coach Graham Arnold and his team were ineffective.

Australia were helpless against Bahrain's crowded defense, even having to play with 10 men from the 77th minute, when striker Yengi received a straight red card. After having the advantage of having more players, Bahrain suddenly rose up and created many opportunities in the final minutes of the match.

Bahrain's pressure was confirmed by a goal in the 89th minute. In a defensive effort, center back Harry Souttar fumbled the ball into his own net. The remaining time was not enough for the 10-man Australian side to turn the game around. The home team accepted their first defeat in history against Bahrain.

The shock defeat could cost Australia dearly. In the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, they will also face Japan and Saudi Arabia, the continent's top teams.

Weightlifter Le Van Cong receives "hot" reward after winning 2024 Paralympic medal

Weightlifter Le Van Cong continues to make his mark on Vietnamese sports by winning a Bronze Medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

With this impressive achievement, Le Van Cong not only brought pride to the country but also received a "hot" bonus thanks to this achievement.

Immediately after winning the Bronze Medal, weightlifter Le Van Cong was honored and awarded a total of 235 million VND. Of which, 85 million VND was the reward from the State according to regulations, 100 million VND came from Ho Chi Minh City - his home unit and another 50 million VND was awarded by the sponsor.

This award is a recognition of Le Van Cong's outstanding efforts and achievements in his journey to conquer the 2024 Paralympics. Hopefully, in the future, he will continue to receive many honors and support from the sports community and fans.

Dong A Thanh Hoa finalizes the list of players participating in V.League 2024/25

Thanh Hoa football team finalizes the list of 30 players competing in V.League 2024/2025.

In the registration list for the 2024/2025 season of the Thanh team, there are 5 foreign players, including Rimario Gordon (Jamaica), Yago Ramos (Brazil), Luiz Antonio (Brazil), Gustavo Sant'Ana Santos (Brazil) and Kim Won Sik (Korea).

Among them, Yago Ramos and Kim Won Sik just moved to Thanh Hoa Stadium last August. Gustavo Sant'Ana Santos was originally from Dong A Thanh Hoa but was out of the team for a while and has just returned after recovering from an injury.

Due to financial difficulties, Dong A Thanh Hoa did not recruit many domestic players, instead they decided to put their faith in young talents trained by the club.

Coach Popov has promoted 4 young faces to the first team including Ha Chau Phi, Nguyen Ngoc My, Nguyen Ba Tien and Tran Ngoc Quy.

Thus, Thanh Hoa now has a total of 9 players in the U23 group and trained from Thanh Hoa training center with the opportunity to compete in V.League 2024/2025.

V.League 2024/2025 will kick off in mid-September, the Thanh team will open the national championship by hosting B.Binh Duong at home on September 14.

Vietnam team received bad news from FIFA

Although they have not played in the FIFA Days in September 2024, the Vietnamese team has dropped one place in the FIFA rankings. Specifically, the red team has dropped from 115th to 116th in the world.

The reason why Vietnam's team dropped in rank is because Lebanon just rose 3 places in the FIFA rankings, from 116 to 113 in the world.

Recently, Lebanon had a narrow 1-0 victory over Tajikistan at the Merdeka Cup friendly tournament and was awarded 5.43 points.

This relegation also affects the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Specifically, coach Kim Sang-sik's team ranked 4/6 in the number 1 seed group in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (according to FIFA rankings).

But with Lebanon surpassing them in the FIFA rankings, the “Golden Star Warriors” have dropped to 5th/6th in the highest seed group of the Asian qualifiers.

However, the Vietnamese team still has a chance to improve its FIFA ranking when participating in two friendly matches in September 2024./.