Defeating Thailand, Vietnam women's team won the bronze medal in Southeast Asia; Vinicius was eliminated from Brazil's squad for the World Cup qualifiers

Defeating Thailand, Vietnam women's team won the bronze medal in Southeast Asia

With a 3-1 victory over Thailand, the Vietnamese women's team convincingly won the bronze medal at the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship.

Both Vietnam and Thailand lost in the semi-finals, so they had to meet again in the bronze medal match of the tournament. Because they had faced each other in the group stage and knew each other very well, both sides fielded their strongest lineups in this match. Right from the start of the match, Thailand took the initiative to control the game to put pressure on the host Vietnam. However, Thailand still did not have many opportunities to make it difficult for goalkeeper Kim Thanh's goal.

After that, both teams played more offensively, especially coach Mai Duc Chung's students had many times besieging the Thai women's team's goal. However, during the first 25 minutes of the match, both teams had almost no real dangerous opportunities towards each other's goal. In particular, the team from the land of the golden pagodas blocked the home team's attacks, causing the attacks of the Vietnamese women's team to fall into a deadlock.

In this match, the Thai women's team played close and fiercely, making it difficult for coach Mai Duc Chung's players to launch attacks. Not to mention the impatience that caused the home team's passes to go astray. In addition, it can be seen that although they do not control the game, the Thai women's team is directing the game in their own direction, making experts watching this match worried.

It was not until the 40th minute that the Vietnamese women's team had a chance to cause trouble for goalkeeper Homyamyen's goal, but Thai Thi Thao's shot went too high. In the 45th minute, from a pass over the line, the ball came to Hai Yen's feet as she rushed down to close in on the Thai goal and fired a shot to open the score for the host Vietnam.

HAGL: Starting the race to… avoid relegation

The departure of a series of key players has weakened HAGL significantly. It is not surprising that after the 0-3 defeat against Becamex TP.HCM, the team from the Mountain City is among the candidates to compete for relegation in the V.League 2025/26.

Along with the 2025/26 V.League championship race for ambitious candidates such as Nam Dinh, Hanoi Police, Nam Dinh, The Cong Viettel, Ninh Binh..., it must be admitted that HAGL, Becamex TP.HCM or Hong Linh Ha Tinh are only suitable for staying in the league.

In addition to HAGL, Becamex TP.HCM was also significantly affected in terms of personnel after a summer of many changes. Coach Nguyen Anh Duc said goodbye to veteran center back Ngoc Hai and striker Tien Linh. Not to mention, injuries prevented Vi Hao and Tan Tai from playing in the first leg of the season. Fortunately for Becamex TP.HCM, the team was able to retain Vo Hoang Minh Khoa, despite a rosy offer from the Hanoi Police Club. This "spring swallow" is the biggest hope for Becamex TP.HCM to overcome the storm in the 2025/26 season. However, the big win against HAGL also gives Nguyen Anh Duc and his team more hope to stay in this season.

Like HAGL and Becamex TP.HCM, the "fiery" summer took place in Ha Tinh. New coach Cong Manh was forced to overhaul the squad, due to the departure of a series of faces after the previous successful season. Not many famous names came to the Central region, so Hong Linh Ha Tinh also chose a modest and within-reach goal. That is to stay in the V.League. That "KPI" will be implemented by them from the first round, similar to Becamex TP.HCM, HAGL or some other opponents.

V.League 2025/26 is really witnessing many colors, right from the beginning of the first round. That could be the enthusiasm and ambition of many teams that invest heavily and have a roadmap. But on the contrary, some clubs soon understand their mindset and need to choose their goals.

Messi plays his last match for Argentina in Buenos Aires

According to DSports, if nothing changes, captain Lionel Messi will likely play his last match in Buenos Aires on September 5 with the Argentina team.

Specifically, after the match against Venezuela at home on September 5, the world champion will no longer participate in any official matches of the team in the capital Buenos Aires.

That's because Argentina's next matches won't take place in Buenos Aires until after the 2026 World Cup, when Messi is expected to retire from international football.

Argentina has two final rounds of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, and will then enter the preparation phase with friendly matches leading up to the football festival taking place in the US, Mexico and Canada.

So far, Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil have already secured their tickets to the finals. Meanwhile, Uruguay and Paraguay are very close with 24 points each, and only a big misstep will cause them to miss out in less than a year.

Throughout his international career, Messi has left his mark with 112 goals and 61 assists in 193 appearances for La Albiceleste. With the national team, Messi has won 2 Copa Americas (2021, 2024), Finalissima 2022 and most notably the 2022 World Cup.

Currently, Messi personally has not made any decision regarding retiring from international football or continuing to contribute to the national team.

Controversial decision: Vinicius left out of Brazil squad for World Cup qualifiers

The Brazilian national team's coaching staff has sent a preliminary call-up list as required by FIFA, and Vinicius' name is not on the list.
According to GE Globo, Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior will not be on the Brazil squad for the upcoming two 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This decision was made after coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazilian coaching staff agreed to prioritize the health of the players.

In Brazil's 1-0 win over Paraguay, Vinicius picked up a yellow card, meaning he will be suspended for the next match against Chile at the Maracana. Given the tough conditions in the remaining match, against Bolivia in El Alto (4,100 metres above sea level), coach Ancelotti convinced the Brazilian coaching staff to give Vinicius a complete rest.

The decision to rest Vinicius may not be a happy one for Brazil fans, especially given his recent form. However, Brazil have already secured their place at the 2026 World Cup, and keeping key players fit is a top priority.

With a gruelling La Liga and Champions League campaign ahead, Ancelotti believes keeping Vinicius fit is vital for both Real Madrid and the national team in the long term.

Brazil's final squad will be announced on August 25. Meanwhile, Vinicius is likely to join Kylian Mbappe in Real Madrid's attack when the Royal team opens La Liga against Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu at 2am on August 20.