Too difficult for Vietnam team against Malaysia; Glazer family sets price to sell MU outright

It's too difficult for Vietnam team against Malaysia, they certainly won't be eliminated early.

The second leg match between Vietnam and Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will take place on March 31, 2026.

This is also the final deadline that AFC has given to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to complete the case related to the 7 naturalized players. As the penalty has not yet been finalized, the Malaysian team is considered to be certain to qualify for the entire qualifying round, meaning they will not be eliminated early.

In that context, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team are in a difficult situation. Vietnam needs to beat Malaysia by at least 5 goals to be able to decide the top spot in Group F, thereby winning a direct ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup. If they only win by 4 goals, Vietnam will have to wait to compare the additional index, and any lower result will potentially risk being eliminated if Malaysia reverses the situation in the incident with FIFA.

After the 3-1 victory over Nepal, coach Kim Sang Sik shared about the race for a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup finals: “Malaysia also won, so we are in second place. The whole team will try their best in the remaining 3 matches. What we need to do now is focus on winning, not thinking too much about our competitors.”

However, the task of beating Malaysia is too big a challenge for the Vietnamese team at the present time. Under coach Kim Sang Sik, the Vietnamese team has yet to show an impressive image after winning the AFF Cup 2024 championship. The attack lacks the expected explosiveness, while the defense still makes frequent mistakes. Notably, the Vietnamese team rarely keeps a clean sheet, having conceded against both Cambodia and Nepal, opponents that are considered much weaker than Malaysia.

As for the Malaysian team, although they cannot use 7 naturalized players, they still show impressive strength. In the match against Laos, Malaysia completely dominated and won 3-0 away. Therefore, if they want to defeat Malaysia, the Vietnamese team needs to improve comprehensively in both defense and attack. And to create a victory with a difference of 4-5 goals, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team probably need a miracle, because the Malaysian team is clearly still a very strong team despite the absence of naturalized players.

Border Guards won all 7 matches, leading the qualifying round of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship

On the afternoon of October 10, at the Ninh Binh Provincial Sports Gymnasium, a volleyball match took place within the framework of phase 2 of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship between the MB Border Guard men's volleyball team and the Ho Chi Minh City Police men's volleyball team.

The highlight match of Group B between two teams in high form, Ho Chi Minh City Police and MB Border Guard, ended with an overwhelming 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-17, 25-23) for MB Border Guard.

This result helped the army team complete the qualifying round of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship with a record of 7 wins, maintaining the top position in the table and affirming their superior strength.

Right from the first plays, MB Border Guard showed initiative in playing style and ability to control the game. A balanced lineup, powerful serves and effective blocks helped coach Tran Dinh Tien and his team quickly gain the upper hand. In the first set, MB Border Guard maintained a steady pace, taking advantage of opportunities to win 25-20. Moving into the second set, the team continued to demonstrate their strong attacking ability, scoring consecutive points from difficult serves and quick counterattacks, thereby winning 25-17.

Set 3 witnessed the efforts of Ho Chi Minh City Police to rise up when they took the lead at one point. However, the calmness and certainty in passing the first pass, and reasonable attack coordination helped the MB Border Guard to come back, ending the match with a 25-23 victory.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuan is the most prominent name on the MB Border Guard side when he scored many important points, demonstrating flexible ball handling ability and fierce fighting spirit.

The 3-0 victory not only helped this team maintain its winning streak but also affirmed its position as a top candidate for this year's championship.

According to the schedule, MB Border Guard will meet the fourth-placed team - determined after the match between LP Bank Ninh Binh and Lavia Tay Ninh. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City Police will face The Cong Tan Cang in the semi-finals. MB Border Guard is showing that they are one of the most formidable teams in the tournament, ready to aim for the highest goal in the final round of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship.

Glazer family set price to sell MU outright

MU is facing a major turning point when the Glazer family is said to be ready to listen to offers to buy the club from Middle Eastern investors, especially a group from the UAE.

According to the Telegraph, the agreement between Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Glazer includes a "drag-along" clause - allowing major shareholders to force minority shareholders to sell their ownership if someone buys the entire club. This means that if the Glazers sell their 48.9% stake, Ratcliffe will be forced to leave under the same conditions.

After the failure of Sheikh Jassim (Qatar) in 2023, the Middle East's shadow once again appeared. Daily Mail reported that an investment group from the UAE considered making an offer to buy MU, even approaching some former players to invite them to be ambassadors for the project.

The hints from Turki Al-Sheikh - a highly influential figure in the Saudi Arabian sports world, further stirred public opinion. He wrote: "The best news I've heard is that Manchester United are in the negotiation stage to sell to new investors. Hopefully they are better than the current owners."

British media confirmed that the Glazer family is ready to sell MU if they receive a price of over 5 billion pounds for their shares. If successful, this will be one of the most expensive club transfers in the history of world sports.

The Glazer family has controlled MU since 2005. The Independent revealed that before the Glazers took over, the "Red Devils" had almost no debt. Now, the number has ballooned to an alarming level. The club's current debt is up to 637 million pounds, not to mention the total amount borrowed exceeding 1 billion pounds.

British billionaire Ratcliffe, owner of INEOS Group, currently owns 28.94% of MU shares and controls the club's football division. However, Ratcliffe's reform policy has not yet brought about clear results on the field.

Crazy scenario in African World Cup qualifiers

On the evening of October 10, Ivory Coast seemed to have secured an early World Cup ticket, but Gabon prevented this from happening with an impressive comeback with 4 goals from Aubameyang.

In Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Africa, Ivory Coast has 20 points, 1 point more than Gabon. The "Elephants" had no difficulty crushing Seychelles with a score of 7-0, in which 4 goals were scored in the first half.

At the same time, Gabon was trailing Gambia 2-3 but created a crazy scenario when they won 4-3 thanks to veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He alone scored 4 goals. However, the former Arsenal striker received a red card in the 85th minute, thereby causing Gabon to lose strength in the final round.

Gabon's spectacular comeback away from home means Ivory Coast cannot qualify for the World Cup. After 9 matches, Ivory Coast has 23 points, 1 point more than Gabon, but is ranked higher thanks to a superior goal difference (22 vs 11).

In the final round, Ivory Coast must beat Kenya to maintain their top position. Against a tough opponent, the West African representative cannot afford to make any mistakes as they have one hand on the ticket to the biggest tournament at the national team level in 12 years.

The golden generation of world-class superstars like Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba has passed, and the Elephants are now a collective of players playing in France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium. However, coach Emerse Fae and his team are still considered an interesting unknown if they participate in the World Cup next year.

In group B, with a squad full of stars playing for world-famous clubs, Senegal only needed less than 60 minutes to decide the match with host South Sudan.

Ismaila Sarr (29', 54'), Sadio Mane (46'), Nicolas Jackson (60'), Cherif Ndiaye (75') scored in turn, helping the "Teranga Lions" win big at Juba Stadium. After 9 matches, Mane and his teammates have 21 points, 2 points more than the Republic of Congo. In the final round, Senegal only needs to beat the opponent ranked second to last in the rankings, Mauritania, to win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.