Vietnam team got ticket to Asian Cup 2027, which seemed easy but turned out to be… difficult; Ronaldo was dim, Al Nassr won a thrilling victory over Al Ahli

Vietnam Team: Getting a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup seemed easy but suddenly became… difficult

After winning the 2024 ASEAN Cup, the fact that naturalized striker Xuan Son suffered a serious injury and had to take a long break has made many people worried about the Vietnamese team's goal of winning tickets to the Asian Cup.

Not stopping there, injuries from Van Toan, Cong Phuong... put coach Kim Sang Sik in a difficult position in the upcoming campaign. However, this strategist must have made calculations and preparations for replacement.

Many key players in the Vietnam team that just won the 2024 ASEAN Cup are losing their form. It is worth mentioning that too many matches are taking place on substandard pitches, leading to a major impact on professional quality, not to mention the potential risk of injury to the players.

This is the problem that makes Mr. Kim Sang Sik and the Vietnamese team nervous for the campaign to hunt for tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup, because they cannot solve it themselves nor can they intervene.

To Van Vu tore his cruciate ligament, Nam Dinh faced difficulties in the V.League championship race.

On the evening of February 13, Nam Dinh Blue Steel Club announced the injury status of midfielder To Van Vu. Accordingly, player To Van Vu suffered a serious injury, specifically a torn anterior cruciate ligament and is preparing for surgery after the swelling has subsided.

This is a big loss for Coach Vu Hong Viet's team, as the team from Thanh Nam had many players injured before. Among them are important names such as: Xuan Son, Van Toan, Hoang Anh, Van Cong.

Coach Vu Hong Viet said: “This is a huge loss for Nam Dinh club. However, we still have alternative options such as Van Kien and Duc Huy to take over the position left by Van Vu.”

Indonesia lost heavily in the opening match of the AFC U20 Championship

U20 Indonesiasuffered a 0-3 defeat against U20 Iran in the opening match of Group C of the 2025 AFC U20 Championship on the evening of February 13.

At the 2025 AFC U20 Championship, Southeast Asia only has two teams qualified to participate: U20 Indonesia and U20 Thailand. The team from the archipelago is in Group C with opponents U20 Iran, Uzbekistan and U20 Yemen. Meanwhile, U20 Thailand falls into the "death" Group D with U20 Japan, U20 South Korea and U20 Syria.

Right in the opening match, U20 Indonesia faced the strongest opponent in the group and also one of the championship candidates, U20 Iran.

The most notable situation that U20 Indonesia created was Toni Firmansyah's long-range shot from more than 30 meters was blocked by the Iranian goalkeeper at the end of the first half.

After many missed opportunities, it was not until the 62nd minute that U20 Iran doubled the gap. Esmaeil Gholizadeh was the one to put his name on the scoreboard with a classy finish.

Less than 10 minutes later, U20 Iran secured an easy 3-0 victory, thanks to Mobin Dehghan's accurate header.

Leaving the Malaysian team to return home, Coach Park Hang Seo's compatriot tastes bitter fruit

After leaving the Malaysian national team to lead a club in Korea, coach Kim Pan-gon did not achieve good results in the Asian Cup 1.

Coach Kim Pan-gon (55 years old) has led the Malaysian national team since 2022. In July 2024, Mr. Kim suddenly asked to terminate his contract with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and then moved to lead Ulsan Huyndai Club in Korea. On February 12, Mr. Kim and Ulsan Huyndai lost 1-2 to Thai club Buriram United in the 2024-2025 AFC Champions League Elite.

With a record of 1 win, 6 losses and only 3 points, Ulsan Hyundai ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference standings and was officially eliminated, regardless of the results of the remaining matches. The three-time K-League 1 champion fell to the bottom of the rankings after a series of 5 consecutive losses and had no chance of advancing after their 6th loss in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Ronaldo fades, Al Nassr wins thrillingly over Al Ahli

In the early morning of February 14, Al Nassr visited Al Ahli in the 20th round of the Saudi Arabian National Championship. As usual, the presence of superstar Ronaldo was the center of attention.

Despite being under tremendous pressure from home fans, Al Nassr still took the initiative by pushing up their formation and putting pressure on Al Ahli's goal. In the first 20 minutes of the match, Ronaldo and his teammates had a ball possession rate of up to 75%.

However, it was not until the 32nd minute that coach Stefano Pioli and his team were able to celebrate a goal. Starting from an assist from Ayman Ahmed, John Duran handled the ball skillfully before unleashing a shot from the edge of the penalty area with his left foot, the ball flew dangerously into the bottom right corner of the goal, defeating goalkeeper Mendy, opening the score for Al Nassr.

In the end, Al Nassr had a thrilling 3-2 victory over Al Ahli. With this victory, Ronaldo and his teammates currently have 44 points and are ranked 3rd in the Saudi Arabian Premier League, 5 points behind the leading team Al Ittihad but having played one more match.