When will the My Dinh National Stadium's grass surface be upgraded?; U20 Australia wins Asian Cup

When will My Dinh National Stadium's grass surface be upgraded?

Sharing with the press, Mr. Dang Ha Viet - Director of the Department of Sports and Physical Training said: "In 2025, My Dinh Stadium will be granted 8 billion VND to repair the grass surface. It was approved at the end of last year, so this year the sports industry will proceed to repair and renovate, expected to be implemented from June to October.

Infrastructure items such as roofs... are related to investment capital and many other things, so first we will solve the problem of My Dinh stadium's grass because the grass is old and past its useful life."

In December 2024, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) decided not to organize any matches of the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup 2024 at My Dinh National Stadium. The matches in the group stage, semi-finals and final were all moved to Phu Tho Stadium.

The cause was due to the serious deterioration of the My Dinh Stadium grass after 2 nights of hosting the music show "Anh trai say hi". At that time, My Dinh Stadium had many marks and dents on the grass. Many areas of grass on the field were withered or bare, not meeting the requirements of international football matches at the regional level.

In the home matches of The Cong Viettel in early 2025, the grass surface of My Dinh Stadium has improved a lot compared to 2 months ago. However, just a few strong ball disputes between players, the grass is easily torn up again.

Information on the repair was also announced by the leader of the My Dinh National Sports Complex, but added that the investment must be bid and depends on the State's process.

My Dinh Stadium will have its entire turf surface repaired and its foundation redone. Currently, the turf is 20 layers deep, but will be dug down to 40-50 layers to completely renew it. In addition, the sprinkler system will also be upgraded.

Nguyen Thuy Linh entered the final of the German Open

At the 2025 German Open, Thuy Linh showed impressive form when defeating Kashyap (2-0), Leonice Huet (2-0). In the quarter-finals, Thuy Linh's opponent, Tasnim Mir, withdrew. In the semi-finals, Thuy Linh was rated higher than her opponent when ranked 29th in the world. Meanwhile, Riko Gunji (born in 2002), ranked 41st in the world, had very good form with a series of 3 consecutive wins at the German Open, including victories over Hooda (2-1), Shuo Yun Sung (2-0) and Kharb (2-0).

Thuy Linh faced many difficulties in the first set when her opponent had tricky shots. After adjusting her mentality and playing style, the 1997-born player scored important points to win 21/17.

In set 2, Gunji was still the better player at the beginning. The 2019 World Youth Badminton Champion even took the lead 16/8. However, once again, Vietnam's No. 1 player played brilliantly at the decisive moment. Thuy Linh had a series of consecutive points to tie the score 17/17, before winning 21/19, winning 2-0 overall.

Thus, Thuy Linh entered the final of the German Open for the second consecutive time. Her opponent in the championship match was Yeo Jia Min (Korea, world No. 13), who defeated defending champion Mia Blichfeldt in the previous semi-final.

U20 Australia won the U20 Asian Championship for the first time

Defeating Saudi Arabia after a penalty shootout in the final match held on the evening of March 1, U20 Australia was crowned champion of the U20 Asian Cup for the first time.

The final match of the 2025 AFC U20 Championship took place in Shenzhen, China. The match between two very strong teams, Saudi Arabia and Australia, was extremely tense.

Agosti opened the scoring for U20 Australia in the 24th minute. Badolato crossed the ball for Agosti. The Australian player turned and shot the ball, beating Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Hamed Yousef, scoring to give Australia a 1-0 lead.

However, the young Australian players could not maintain the lead until the end of the first half. In the second minute of injury time of the first half, Saudi Arabia scored an equalizer.

In this situation, Haji of Saudi Arabia put the ball into the Australian net. Referee Hiroki Kasahara (Japanese) initially disallowed the goal.

However, after consulting VAR technology, referee Hiroki Kasahara changed his mind, recognized this goal and U20 Saudi Arabia equalized the score 1-1.

No more goals were scored in the second half and extra time, the two sides tied 1-1 after 120 minutes of play. The two teams were forced to decide the winner by a penalty shootout.

In this penalty shootout, the young team from the land of kangaroos won dramatically 5-4, thereby winning the overall victory.

This is the first time U20 Australia has won the U20 Asian Championship. Meanwhile, U20 Saudi Arabia has not won the championship for the fourth time in the history of this tournament.

Real Madrid lost to Real Betis

In the early morning of March 2, Real Betis was behind but still defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in round 26 of La Liga.

Playing away, Real Madrid entered the game with confidence and opened the score in the 10th minute. Mbappe delicately passed the ball for Mendy to escape, before the French defender crossed for Brahim Diaz to easily tap the ball into the net.

After conceding the goal, Betis rose strongly. Jesus Rodriguez played energetically on the left wing, while Antony on the opposite wing did not have much space. The former MU player tried to create a breakthrough but his crosses and long shots were ineffective.

With their coordination deadlocked, Betis found an equalizer from a set piece. In the 35th minute, Isco crossed the ball from a corner kick for Johnny Cardoso to jump high and head past Courtois.

At the end of the first half, Betis almost took the lead. In the 45+2 minute, Cucho Hernandez headed the ball dangerously but Courtois made an excellent reflex save.

In the second half, Real Madrid pushed up their formation but before they could put pressure on them, they received a counter-attack from Betis. In the 54th minute, Isco passed the ball to Jesus Rodriguez to escape into the penalty area. The young player skillfully covered the ball, forcing Rudiger to commit a foul. From the 11m mark, Isco coolly defeated Courtois, giving Betis a 2-1 lead.

In the remaining minutes, the home team defended proactively and took advantage of Antony's speed to counterattack. In the 57th minute, the Brazilian player broke through, forcing Alaba to foul and receive a card. In the 67th minute, Antony almost assisted but Cucho Hernandez's shot went wide.

While Antony played brilliantly, Mbappe was withdrawn early. Coach Ancelotti's adjustments such as bringing in Endrick and Arda Guler could not help Real turn the game around. In the 84th minute, Vinicius had a chance but his shot was blocked by the Betis goalkeeper.

Losing 1-2, Real Madrid faces the risk of losing the top spot if Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both win. Meanwhile, Betis moved up to 6th, 6 points behind the Europa League spot.

Young star born in 2005 rescues Man City

In the early morning of March 2, Nico O'Reilly scored 2 goals to help Man City come from behind to win 3-1 against Plymouth to enter the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Facing an opponent that is second to last in the Championship rankings, coach Pep Guardiola confidently left many key players on the bench to give opportunities to young and reserve players.

The home team at Etihad attacked relentlessly but could not break down the away team's defense, even allowing Plymouth to take a surprising lead in the 38th minute. Maksym Talovierov silenced the Etihad fans with a powerful high header.

In a difficult situation, Nico O'Reilly, a young defender born in 2005, played the role of hero for Man City. In the 45+1 minute, he ran into position, received a pass like a set piece from Kevin De Bruyne, before heading the ball past the away team's goalkeeper.

In the second half, the home team continued to dominate but had to wait until the 76th minute to take the lead. It was O'Reilly again with a precise header from close range, after a corner kick taken by Phil Foden.

This was Nico O'Reilly's third goal in the FA Cup this season. Previously, the young defender of Man City scored 1 goal in the club's 8-0 victory over Salford.

In the final minutes, De Bruyne also marked an impressive day with a goal that sealed a 3-1 victory for the home team. The assist was provided by Erling Haaland.

Man City, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Preston, Bournemouth have qualified for the FA Cup quarter-finals. The remaining three teams will be decided after the matches between Newcastle and Brighton, Man Utd and Fulham, Nottingham and Ipswich.