Vietnam women's team excited to compete with Uzbekistan and China; Tien Linh honored as 'Young people living beautifully'
23 players of the Vietnamese women's team have completed their preparations and are ready to leave for China; Tien Linh is one of 20 outstanding young people who have made many contributions to society. These are the highlights of the past 24 hours.
Vietnam women's team excited to compete with Uzbekistan and China
After nearly 2 weeks of training at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center, under the guidance of head coach Mai Duc Chung, 23 players of the Vietnam women's team have completed their preparations and are ready to leave for China to participate in a friendly tournament.
As planned,Vietnam women's teamwill leave for China on October 21. Before the competition day, the female players are scheduled to play a friendly match with the veteran Thanh Tri team on the afternoon of October 18 so that the coaching staff can review the team one last time and assemble the squad.
Evaluating the recent training process, head coach Mai Duc Chung said the team is very lucky to prepare to meet opponents who are considered to be of high quality.
“It’s a bit of a pity that during this training session, the team didn’t have much time to prepare, only 10 days to prepare for the competition. But that’s a valuable thing for us, we get to compete with China, a much better team, ranked much higher than us on the FIFA rankings. Uzbekistan is on the same level as us. These are teams we can compete with in the Asian region,” he said.
Striker Nguyen Tien Linh: "This is the motivation for me to strive even more"
That is what striker Nguyen Tien Linh shared when he was just honored at the Gala "Beautiful Youth" 2024. Here, the captain of Becamex Binh Duong was one of 20 typical young people, who have made many contributions to society through volunteer programs, honored in the program organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union.
In 2024, Tien Linh left a strong impression by successfully organizing the "Spreading Love" match, raising nearly 10 billion VND. All of this money was transferred to the Operation Fund of the Binh Duong Provincial Red Cross Society.
With meaningful activities for the community, Tien Linh was honored at the Gala "Beautiful Youth" in 2024. This is a program organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union.
Previously, with his charitable heart, the current leading striker of the Vietnamese team also gave many meaningful gifts to many lives and difficult families across the country through charity trips he organized with his teammates and acquaintances.
AFC rules on Indonesia's request to play on neutral ground
AFC said it will discuss further with FIFA as well as the federations of the two countries to ensure the safe organization of the Indonesia - Bahrain match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
On October 18, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it had received notice of concerns raised by the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) regarding the security and safety of the national team ahead of the match in Indonesia in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to take place on March 25, 2025.
"The AFC takes these concerns very seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all players, officials and fans, and condemns all forms of online abuse and intimidation," the AFC stressed.
With the above announcement from AFC, it is likely that the Indonesia - Bahrain match will still take place in the archipelago as planned, instead of moving to a neutral stadium as requested by BFA.
Previously, the first leg in Bahrain caused controversy when the home team equalized 2-2 in the 90+9 minute in a match with only 6 minutes of extra time.
After the match, Indonesian coach Shin Tae-yong accused the referee of favoring Bahrain, while PSSI filed a complaint against the referee to AFC and FIFA.
More seriously, Indonesian fans flooded the websites and social media pages of the BFA and the Bahrain national team to attack, insult, and threaten to kill the country's players when they came to play as guests in the second leg.
Ronaldo becomes hero, Al Nassr wins the match in the 97th minute
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive penalty, bringing a dramatic 2-1 victory for Al Nassr right on Al Shabab's field in round 7 of the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League.
To continue chasing the defending champion Al Hilal, Al Nassr, led by superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, must overcome the home team Al Shabab.
After a cautious performance, it seemed like the match would end in a 1-1 draw, but the away team had a chance to take the lead. Al Nassr was awarded a penalty and Ronaldo converted it successfully in the 90+7 minute.
In the final minutes of stoppage time, the away team was down to 10 men as defender Simakan received a second yellow card. However, the score of 1-2 in favor of Al Nassr was maintained until the referee blew the final whistle.
With the win, Al Nassr has 17 points and is currently ranked 2nd in the 2024/25 Saudi Arabian Premier League. The gap between them and the top club, Al Hilal, is only 4 points.
