Vietnam women's futsal team competes for best team in the world; Arsenal consolidates top spot in Premier League.

Vietnamese women's futsal team competes for the best team in the world award.

The Vietnamese women's futsal team and coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang have been nominated in important categories of the annual awards organized by the prestigious Futsal Planet magazine.

Specifically, in the category of Best Women's Futsal Team in the World 2025, the Vietnamese women's futsal team is included in the list of 6 nominees along with Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Poland, and Thailand.

Meanwhile, coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang has been nominated in the category of Best Women's Futsal Team Coach in the World 2025, competing against strategists including Claudia Pons Xandri (Spain), Luis Miguel Jeronimo da Conceicao (Portugal), Silvio Nicolas Noriega (Argentina), Thanatorn Santanaprasit (Thailand) and Adil Sayeh (Morocco).

The fact that the Vietnamese women's futsal team and coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang were nominated by Futsal Planet stems from their impressive achievements in 2025. Under the leadership of coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang, the Vietnamese women's futsal team won the SEA Games 33 gold medal for the first time, and also performed convincingly at the Asian Women's Futsal Championship, reaching the quarterfinals.

These positive results help the Vietnamese women's futsal team maintain its position in the Top 11 strongest women's futsal teams in the world, affirming its progress and increasingly solid position on the international futsal map.

Futsal Planet is the world's leading futsal magazine, organizing an annual awards system since 2000. In the absence of a dedicated FIFA futsal award, Futsal Planet's titles are considered the most prestigious measure of indoor football's reputation. The results for the 2025 awards are expected to be announced on January 7, 2026.

For the second time in history, the Indonesian national team has an English coach.

On January 3, 2026, the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) officially appointed John Herdman as the head coach of the national team, marking a new chapter after a period working with Shin Tae-yong and Patrick Kluivert.

PSSI highly values ​​the coaching profile of the 50-year-old strategist, one of the rare individuals who has led both the Canadian men's and women's national teams to qualify for the World Cup. Herdman's diverse experience is expected to help Indonesia improve its tactical thinking and international competitive spirit.

Despite holding Canadian citizenship, Herdman has British roots, making him the second English coach in history to lead the Indonesian national team, after Peter Withe – who made his mark by helping Indonesia reach the final and finish as runners-up in the 2004 Tiger Cup.

The return of an English coach is symbolic, reflecting PSSI's ambition to find a new direction for Garuda, amidst the immense pressure the team is facing from fan expectations and fierce regional competition.

Arsenal consolidate their lead in the Premier League.

In the early hours of January 4th, Arsenal defeated Bournemouth 3-2 in the 20th round of the Premier League, extending their winning streak to five matches and further solidifying their position as title contenders.

The match at Vitality Stadium didn't start the way Arsenal had hoped. A costly mistake by Gabriel Magalhaes, with a careless cross in the penalty area, allowed Evanilson to easily open the scoring for Bournemouth in the 10th minute.

However, the Brazilian center-back quickly redeemed himself by being in the right place at the far post, finishing from close range after Gabriel Martinelli's attempt was blocked on the goal line, bringing the game back to a tie.

After equalizing, Arsenal were unable to impose their desired style of play. Bournemouth played confidently and constantly threatened David Raya's goal. Shots from Evanilson, Marcus Tavernier, and Justin Kluivert's near-miss free-kick showed that the home team dominated for most of the first half. The "Gunners" appeared less sharp and somewhat fatigued due to their packed schedule.

The turning point came in the second half, when Arsenal significantly increased their pace. Just minutes after the break, a quick combination play resulted in Declan Rice finishing off a goal to make it 2-1, following a delicate assist from Martin Odegaard.

Arteta's personnel changes continued to pay off, with Bukayo Saka creating a breakthrough before passing the ball back for Rice to complete his brace, putting Arsenal 3-1 ahead. Although Eli Junior Kroupi pulled one back for Bournemouth late in the game, Arsenal's defense held firm to secure the victory.

Barcelona beat Espanyol 2-0, extending their lead over Real Madrid.

In the early hours of January 4th, Barcelona secured a 2-0 victory away at Espanyol in the Catalan derby of La Liga's 18th round, thanks to late goals from Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski.

Entering the match, Barcelona controlled the game with superior possession, but faced difficulties against the home team's tight defense. The first half unfolded at a moderate pace, with neither team creating many clear-cut scoring opportunities, and no goals were scored.

After the break, coach Hansi Flick made personnel changes to increase attacking power. These changes helped Barca play better in the second half, constantly putting pressure on Espanyol's goal. The home team's goalkeeper, Joan Garcia, had to work hard to fend off shots from Dani Olmo, Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal.

The turning point of the match came in the 86th minute. From a skillful dribble down the left wing, Fermin Lopez set up Dani Olmo, who curled a powerful shot into the top corner of the net, opening the scoring for Barcelona. Just four minutes later, Fermin continued his impressive run down the touchline before delivering a perfect cross for Robert Lewandowski to finish from close range, sealing a 2-0 victory for the visitors.

Conversely, Espanyol also had dangerous counter-attacks, but they couldn't beat Barcelona's goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who had a solid game against his former team.

Barcelona's victory away at Espanyol solidified their position at the top of La Liga and temporarily extended their lead over Real Madrid to seven points. In this round of matches, Real Madrid will travel to face Real Betis.

Aubameyang responds after being dropped from the Gabon squad.

Gabon football plunged into crisis after AFCON 2025, when the government decided to drop Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the national team and suspend the national team indefinitely following a string of defeats in the group stage.

Following a wave of criticism, Aubameyang spoke out on his personal page, arguing that the team's failure stemmed from systemic problems and that the blame could not be placed on a single individual.

At AFCON 2025, Gabon lost to Cameroon 0-1, Mozambique 2-3, and Ivory Coast 2-3. Despite missing the final match due to injury, the 36-year-old striker was removed from the team by the government, along with captain Bruno Ecuele Manga, and the coaching staff was disbanded.

The latest ban will likely end Aubameyang's international career, amid heavy-handed government intervention in Gabon football following what has been deemed a disastrous campaign.