European coaches cautious with U23 Vietnam; Determining 3 teams to enter the semi-finals of the 2025 National U21 Championship

European coaches cautious with U23 Vietnam

U23 Indonesia is the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament. Coach Gerald Vanenburg, who leads the young team of the archipelago country, predicted that they will meet U23 Thailand and U23 Vietnam in the semi-finals and finals respectively. “I have watched the videos, revolving around the two victories of U23 Vietnam against U23 Laos as well as U23 Thailand over U23 Timor Leste. They are both highly organized teams with good quality players. Therefore, the matches against U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand will be a really big challenge. U23 Indonesia needs to find a suitable approach to the match.”

Evaluating U23 Thailand and U23 Vietnam, Coach Gerald Vanenburg is more cautious about the "Young Warriors of the Golden Star". In addition to the fact that U23 Vietnam is the champion of the tournament for 2 consecutive times, this European strategist also admitted that the force that Coach Kim Sang Sik brought to Indonesia is very strong, including national players such as Trung Kien, Van Khang, Thai Son, Dinh Bac...

“U23 Vietnam is a strong opponent. U23 Indonesia will need to change a lot in their attacking direction if they want to win against this opponent,” said Mr. Gerald Vanenburg. “An advantage for U23 Indonesia is that we will have an extra day off. In addition, the team will also take the opportunity to assign people to monitor U23 Vietnam and U23 Thailand in the final matches of Group C taking place on the evening of July 22. Based on the playing style of these two teams, we will analyze to have a specific and reasonable tactical plan.”

Determining the 3 teams entering the 2025 National U21 semi-finals

After the final match of Group A on the afternoon of July 23, the three teams SHB Da Nang, PVF-CAND and SLNA won tickets to the quarter-finals of the 2025 National U21 Football Championship.

With 3 points after 2 matches, PVF-CAND will face Ho Chi Minh City Football Club with the goal of winning at least 1 point to advance to the quarter-finals. On the other side, the home team also needs a win to avoid being eliminated early on their home field.

PVF-CAND was the better team and took the lead in the 60th minute. Pushed into a difficult position, HCMC tried to raise their formation to attack. In the second half's extra time, the home team equalized the score after a long-range shot by Vo Tuan Phong.

In the remaining match, SHB Da Nang and SLNA drew 0-0. At the end of the group stage of the national U21 tournament, SHB Da Nang ranked first in the group. PVF-CAND and SLNA both had 4 points, but PVF-CAND ranked second due to a better head-to-head record. With the 2 first and second places, SHB Da Nang and PVF-CAND won 2 tickets from group A to the quarterfinals.

Ranked third with 4 points, SLNA has also secured 1 of 2 tickets for the third-placed team with the best record because the two teams in group C, Dong Thap and Dak Lak, currently have no points after 2 matches.

Liverpool's 136 million euro rookie surprises

Wirtz had a good performance in the closed friendly match against Stoke, where he was the biggest highlight. However, what excited the "Red Brigade" fans the most was the surprising understanding between Wirtz and Mohamed Salah.

"From the coaching staff to the players, everyone is fascinated by Wirtz's way of playing. They understand why Liverpool broke the transfer record for the German midfielder," AS described.

The combination of Salah's experience and goalscoring instinct and Wirtz's creativity and tactical vision promises to create a pair that will stir up the Premier League next season. At Anfield, they see Wirtz not only as a current star, but also as someone who can lead Arne Slot's football project for many years to come.

This weekend's game against AC Milan will be the first real test for the Salah-Wirtz duo, which Liverpool hope will be the perfect stepping stone to defending their Premier League title and advancing further in the Champions League.

The fact that Wirtz rejected offers from Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid to choose Liverpool is a testament to the club's growing appeal. And now, with the Wirtz era in England just beginning, Liverpool fans have reason to dream of even more glorious days.

Saliba is willing to take a pay cut to join Real Madrid

According to Marca, although Saliba's contract with Arsenal runs until 2027, the centre-back is still excited about the prospect of playing for Real Madrid. Saliba considers Real Madrid his dream and is willing to do anything to play for the Bernabeu.

If he comes to Real Madrid, Saliba will also have the opportunity to play with his French compatriots such as Mbappe, Camavinga, Tchouameni and Mendy. Real president Florentino Perez highly appreciates Saliba. The Spanish Royal Club's leadership considers him to be the world's leading central defender, suitable for Real Madrid's criteria.

However, Saliba also does not want to cause conflict with Arsenal, the team he has been with since 2019. El Pais revealed that Real Madrid began negotiating with Saliba's representatives since last summer. The "Los Blancos" leadership received positive feedback from the player's relatives and representatives. Real Madrid plans to recruit the French midfielder.

The La Liga side could pay more than £85 million (over €100 million) for the Arsenal star, which would be a record transfer fee for a centre-back.

Harry Maguire is currently the most expensive defender of all time, having moved from Leicester City to Manchester United in 2019 for £80 million. However, this deal can only happen if Saliba is willing to make financial sacrifices, helping "Los Blancos" focus all their efforts on bidding for Arsenal.

Lionel Messi faces suspension risk

Despite being named in the MLS All-Stars squad to play against the Liga MX All-Stars, a team that includes Sergio Ramos, Lionel Messi is likely to miss out, leading to severe disciplinary action from MLS.

The MLS All-Star Game is an annual MLS soccer game where the league's biggest stars team up under one team and play against a European club or all-star team from another league. It is a tradition in North American sports leagues and has become a highly anticipated event for fans.

The MLS All-Stars 2025 match is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. on July 23 (local time, or 8 a.m. on July 25 Hanoi time) at Q2 Stadium, Austin (Texas). The opponent is Liga MX All-Stars, the stars of the Mexican championship, including former Real Madrid center-back Sergio Ramos, who currently plays for Monterrey.

However, it is unlikely that there will be a confrontation between Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi, the duo who have faced each other many times in El Clasico matches, then became teammates when playing together for PSG. Despite being named, Messi has not participated in any MLS All-Stars 2025 events, and sources have not confirmed whether he will play or not.

Under MLS rules, players who are not injured but refuse to participate in the MLS All-Stars will be suspended for one Major League game. Previously, former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic was suspended for one game in 2018 for missing the event.

If Messi does not play at Q2 Stadium, he risks missing Inter Miami's home game on July 26 against league leader FC Cincinnati. Last year, Messi and Luis Suarez also missed the 2024 MLS All-Stars, but were not penalized due to injuries sustained after Copa America.