Cong Phuong shines in National Cup opening match; Messi leaves open possibility of attending 2026 World Cup
Striker Cong Phuong scored the only goal to help his team win the opening match of the National Cup; Phong Phu Ha Nam won the U19 tournament; Messi left open the possibility of participating in the 2026 World Cup... are notable sports news in the past 24 hours.
Cong Phuong shines in the opening match of the National Cup
Striker Cong Phuong scored the only goal to help Binh Phuoc beat Ho Chi Minh City Youth 1-0 in the opening match of the National Cup on the afternoon of October 19.
Head coach Nguyen Anh Duc arranged for Cong Phuong to start from the beginning of the match. This was his first official match since returning to Vietnam in September.
It took Phuong only 5 minutes to score his first goal for his new team. From a pass from his teammate, young striker Van Nam skillfully dribbled the ball and crossed it to number 70. He rushed up to finish, opening the score for Binh Phuoc.
In the 28th minute, Cong Phuong continued to have a remarkable play. From a cross from his teammate, the former HAGL striker confidently shot with the outside of his foot but the ball went over the crossbar.
Although he only played 2 matches in the last 2 years with Yokohama FC, Cong Phuong still caused a lot of trouble for the opponent.
In the second half, the defenders of Ho Chi Minh City Youth closely followed the Vietnamese player, preventing him from having a chance to shoot. In the 58th minute, Cong Phuong was replaced by Manh Hung.
Ho Chi Minh City Youth Club could not create any surprises, even though Binh Phuoc had only 10 players left in the second half. In the end, the match ended with a 1-0 victory for Binh Phuoc thanks to the only goal scored by Cong Phuong.
Although he only played 58 minutes on the field, Cong Phuong still proved his qualities as a former excellent striker of the Vietnam national team. Many viewers hope that the striker from Nghe An can soon regain his best form to return to the national team.
On October 26, Cong Phuong and his teammates will face Hoa Binh in the first round of the 2024/25 First Division.
Phong Phu Ha Nam won the U19 women's tournament with an undefeated record.
Defeating Ho Chi Minh City in the final match, Phong Phu Ha Nam won the National U19 Women's Championship - Acecook Cup 2024 with an undefeated record throughout the tournament.
With home advantage, Phong Phu Ha Nam quickly pushed up their attack when they entered the match against Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of October 19. In the 23rd minute, Luu Hoang Van made the advantage concrete with a goal to put Phong Phu Ha Nam ahead 1-0. However, the team from the city named after Uncle Ho surprised everyone when they scored an equalizer in the first half.
In the 32nd minute, Dau Nguyen Quynh Anh finished impressively and put her name on the scoreboard. The draw helped Ho Chi Minh City's fighting spirit improve significantly compared to the beginning of the match. In the remaining minutes of the first half, Phong Phu Ha Nam imposed a favorable position on their opponents but did not create any more truly dangerous opportunities.
Entering the second half, coach Tran Le Thuy and her team continued to maintain great pressure on the opponent's field. In the 88th minute, Anh Ngoc scored and sealed a 2-1 victory for Phong Phu Ha Nam.
In another match, Zantino Vinh Phuc caused a surprise when they defeated Thai Nguyen T&T of coach Van Thi Thanh with a score of 2-1. At the end of the national U19 women's tournament, Phong Phu Ha Nam won the championship, the runner-up position belonged to Hanoi and Thai Nguyen T&T ranked third.
16-year-old female tennis player wins gold medal at PPA Tour Australia - Vietnam Open
Tran Phuong Anh showed excellent form when winning gold medal at PPA Tour Australia - Vietnam Open, one of the biggest pickleball tournaments in the world.
In the Open 3.5+ women's singles, Vietnam's youngest professional pickleball player Sophia Phuong Anh (Tran Phuong Anh) excellently won her first gold medal. She defeated national champion Phan Quynh 2-1 after 3 sets, in which she won the 3rd set overwhelmingly with a score of 11-0.
The PPA Tour Australia - Vietnam Open 2024 pickleball tournament kicked off on October 18 in Ba Ria Vung Tau, gathering 254 players from countries such as Australia, the US, New Zealand, Thailand...
Sophia Phuong Anh is currently a famous name in the pickleball world with 6 gold medals from 2 major international tournaments before registering at the PPA Tour.
At the World Pickleball Championship Series (WPC) held in September, Phuong Anh won 4 gold medals.
Defeating Brentford, Man Utd ended a streak of 5 matches with draws and losses
Man Utd dominated the majority of the match. In the first half, the "Red Devils" had 10 shots but only 3 were on target and did not score any goals. Finishing situations is still the weakness of the Old Trafford team.
Brentford also only had 2 shots on target in the first half. However, the visitors scored. Taking advantage of the opportunity when Man Utd were short of players due to the referee asking Matthijs de Ligt to leave the field to receive treatment, Brentford scored from a corner kick at the end of the first half. Ethan Pinnock moved freely and headed the ball into the home team's net.
Entering the second half with a goal down, Man Utd went all out to attack. The home team played better than in the first half, especially their ability to finish situations improved significantly.
Coach Erik ten Hag's players had 13 shots in the second half, eight of which were on target. Garnacho equalized with the first attack of the half. Not long after, Hojlund scored to put the "Red Devils" ahead.
Man Utd continued to control the match as they wanted. They did not attack too much and maintained a safe enough position to eliminate the opponent's chances. In fact, if they had taken advantage of their chances better, the "Red Devils" should have had at least 1 more goal.
However, the 2-1 score was enough for Man Utd to have 3 points and temporarily rise to 10th place on the rankings.
Messi leaves open possibility of attending 2026 World Cup
Lionel Messi, the 8-time Ballon d'Or winner, is still holding off on the possibility of participating in the 2026 World Cup finals.
Messi just made a strong impression with a hat-trick and 2 assists to help Argentina defeat Bolivia 6-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, dispelling rumors that he is about to retire due to age issues.
The Argentine striker will turn 39 at the 2026 World Cup and has left open the possibility of participating in the tournament: "When the time comes, we will see."
When asked by the media whether he would defend the World Cup title with Argentina in 2026, Lionel Messi shared on TyC Sports: "I always say that everything happens for a reason and I am never complacent.
I live day by day, try to enjoy every moment, and when the time comes to decide whether I can go to the next World Cup, we will see.
Hopefully I can continue to perform at this level and feel good and be happy because when I feel good and can enjoy what I do, I am very happy. The truth is I don't set myself a goal to achieve that, my goal is to live day by day and be healthy."
Recently, leading Spanish newspaper Marca awarded Messi the award for the football player with the most collective titles of all time, with 46 championships.
Marca held a separate ceremony to honor Messi at Chase Stadium in Florida on October 17. Billionaire co-owner of Inter Miami, Jorge Mas, and newspaper director Juan Ignacio Gallardo took the stage to present the award to Messi.
Marca is the most widely read sports daily newspaper in Spain, with more than half of the country's sports readership. The Madrid-based newspaper is close to Real Madrid and often features positively about the team.