Thai Son Bac crowned 2025 National U20 Futsal Championship; Spain knocks Argentina off the top of FIFA rankings

Thai Son Bac crowned 2025 National U20 Futsal Championship

Defeating opponent Thai Son Nam with a score of 3-2, the young team Thai Son Bac was officially crowned champion of the 2025 National U20 Futsal Championship which ended on the evening of September 19.

The final match of the 2025 National U20 Futsal Championship took place between two arch-rivals Thai Son Bac and Thai Son Nam. Right from the start, the young Thai Son Nam team rushed forward to take control of the game and continuously besieged Thai Son Bac's goal. Many opportunities were created, but the haste prevented Thai Son Nam's shots from being able to score. On the contrary, after a few minutes of being stunned by the opponent's preemptive attack, Thai Son Bac regained balance and deployed attacks on Thai Son Nam's field.

The match was exciting with continuous "tit for tat" moves from both teams, but for more than half of the first half, what the audience needed was a goal that still did not come. It was not until the 14th minute that Tien Hung opened the score for Thai Son Nam from a very fast attack combination of his teammates. The goal stunned Thai Son Bac players and forced them to increase the pressure to attack in order to find an equalizer. When the first half ended with 8 seconds left, Nhan Nam equalized the score 1-1 for Thai Son Bac.

The balanced match made the second half more exciting. However, Thai Son Nam were still the proactive players and had better attacks. However, the surprise happened in the 25th minute when from an attack, Huu Bac had a shot to raise the score to 2-1 for Thai Son Bac. However, their joy did not last too long because less than 10 seconds later, Hoang Phong leveled the score 2-2 for Thai Son Nam.

After that, the competition between the two teams became more and more exciting with consecutive attacks, but the lack of goals made the players impatient, so they increased the pressure on each other's goal. In the 38th minute, Huu Bac suddenly had a breakthrough and then finished, raising the score to 3-2 for Thai Son Bac. This was also his second goal in the final match. After that, Thai Son Nam players tried to turn the game around but failed. With a final victory of 3-2, Thai Son Bac was crowned champion of the tournament.

Determining 8 teams entering the quarterfinals of the 2025 National U17 Championship

On the afternoon of September 19, the final round of Group A of the National U17 Football Championship - Thai Son Nam Cup 2025 ended, thereby determining all eight teams that qualified for the quarterfinals.

At Ba Ria Stadium, the match between U17 Ho Chi Minh City and U17 Thep Xanh Nam Dinh was balanced. The home team controlled the game better but could not take advantage of the clear opportunities created by Quang Khoi, Quang Hung or Phu Ngoc.

In the second half, U17 Ho Chi Minh City continued to press the field but still could not penetrate the disciplined defense of the representative of Thanh Nam. With a 0-0 draw, U17 Thep Xanh Nam Dinh won 4 points after three matches and became one of the two third-placed teams with the best record to enter the quarterfinals.

In the remaining match, U17 SHB Da Nang met U17 Cong An Ha Noi. Determined to win all 3 points, U17 Cong An Ha Noi entered the match proactively and continuously put pressure on the opponent.

However, it was U17 SHB Da Nang who opened the score after Xuan Phuc's close-range shot in the 49th minute. Efforts to find an equalizer helped U17 Cong An Ha Noi equalize the score 1-1 in the 69th minute thanks to Long Nhat.

However, in the last minute of extra time, Anh Luc scored the winning goal 2-1 for U17 SHB Da Nang. With only 1 point after 3 matches, U17 Cong An Ha Noi officially stopped at the group stage.

Closing the group stage, U17 SHB Da Nang led group A with 6 points, U17 Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with 5 points, while U17 Thep Xanh Nam Dinh ranked third with 4 points. U17 Cong An Ha Noi ranked last with 1 point.

Along with the results from groups B and C, the list of 8 teams participating in the quarter-finals includes: U17 SHB Da Nang, U17 Ho Chi Minh City, U17 Nam Dinh Blue Steel, U17 Song Lam Nghe An, U17 Hanoi, U17 PVF-People's Public Security, U17 The Cong Viettel and U17 An Giang.

Spain knocks Argentina off the top of FIFA rankings

Lamine Yamal's Spain have returned to the top of world football, taking the top spot from Argentina in the latest FIFA men's rankings. It is the first time La Roja have been number one since 2014.

Spain's rise comes after crucial wins over Türkiye and Bulgaria in 2026 World Cup qualifiers, ending the reigning world champions' two-year reign.

Meanwhile, Argentina dropped to third place after a costly defeat to Ecuador, while France moved up to second in the September FIFA rankings.

Spain's strong comeback is a big boost ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which they will attend as reigning European champions.

For Argentina, losing the top spot does not change the fact that they are still world champions, but it raises questions about their stability when entering the title defense journey in North America next year.

In the latter group, England held on to fourth place, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal climbed to fifth, overtaking Brazil, who have now dropped to sixth after a string of disappointing results.

Morocco and Japan continue to be the leading representatives of Africa and Asia, showing their growing strength on the global stage. In the CONCACAF region, Mexico still leads in 14th place, ahead of the US team (16).

All eyes now turn to the FIFA rankings update in November, which will decide the crucial seeding pots for the expanded 48-team World Cup.

The draw for the tournament will take place on December 5 in Washington. With the gap at the top very tight, the race for the world title is still far from over.