U23 Vietnam finalizes list of participants in Southeast Asian tournament; Messi surpasses 'King of Football' Pele's record

U23 Vietnam finalizes list for Southeast Asian tournament

Coach Kim Sang Sik has just announced the official list of 23 players of U23 Vietnam to participate in the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship in Indonesia.

Five players had to say goodbye to the team, including goalkeeper Pham Dinh Hai, defender Ho Van Cuong, Nguyen Hong Phuc, midfielder Nguyen Duc Viet and Vietnamese-American striker Bui Alex.

Previously, U23 Vietnam had reduced the number of players from 35 to 28 after two practice matches with U23 Chinese Taipei. The official list was finalized based on performance, ability to respond to tactics and competition in each position.

Among the 5 eliminated names, Bui Alex's case left many regrets. The striker born in 2005, currently playing for the youth team Bohemians Praha 1905 (Czech Republic), first appeared in the U23 Vietnam team and showed certain potential. Staying until the final round of the list is considered a positive stepping stone for this Vietnamese-American player.

Coach Kim Sang-sik highly appreciated the efforts and professional attitude of all the players during the training camp. However, due to the tournament regulations only allowing 23 players to register, the coaching staff was forced to make difficult decisions to ensure the professional quality of the main squad.

According to the plan, U23 Vietnam will leave for Indonesia on July 14. In the group stage, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are in Group B with U23 Laos and U23 Cambodia, competing on July 19 and 22 respectively.

VPF announces V-League 2025/2026

Recently, VPF announced the draw ceremony and schedule for V-League 2025/2026.

The organizers will draw lots and schedule the competition for the highest level of competition in Vietnam on July 14. That means the competition schedule will be announced 1 month before the opening day.

Previously, VPF and the Organizing Committee of National Professional Football Tournaments announced a series of important changes in the regulations of the 2025/2026 season.

Accordingly, V-League 2025/2026 is expected to start from August 15, 2025 and end on June 20, 2026. The First Division starts from September 19, and the National Cup 2025/2026 starts on September 13. Before that, on August 9, 2025, the Super Cup match between Nam Dinh and CAHN will take place.

The highlight is that next season there will be no play-offs. Instead, the 13th and 14th placed teams in the V-League will be relegated directly, making way for the top two teams in the First Division. This forces teams to prepare their squads early and invest more heavily if they want to maintain their position.

Regarding the foreign player regulations, each V-League club is allowed to register a maximum of 4 foreign players, using 3 players at the same time. Clubs participating in the Asian and Southeast Asian Cups are allowed to register up to 7 foreign players. First Division teams are allowed to use a maximum of 1 foreign player - a notable new point. In National Cup matches between the V-League and First Division, only 1 foreign player is allowed to play.

The transfer period lasts from July 15 to September 14 and the second phase from January 25 to March 17, 2026. Changing the competition format and expanding the right to use foreign players promises to bring a more intense race, while creating an advantage for financially strong teams in the coming season.

Quang Duong's contract was terminated by the US Pickleball Association.

On July 12, the United Pickleball Association (UPA) announced the termination of its contract with Duong Thien Quang (Quang Duong) due to repeated violations of exclusivity terms.

According to UPA, the organization has worked with the Vietnamese-born player and his team many times, including discussions, warnings, and financial sanctions. However, Duong continues to violate the contract and provide false information, affecting the transparency and reputation of the tournament system.

“We are in the early stages of building the sport globally. This requires consensus among stakeholders and adherence to a strategy among all stakeholders, from athletes to sponsors. Each athlete has an exclusivity clause in their contract to protect the integrity of our brand and our partners,” UPA stressed in a press release.

The association asserts that Quang Duong's actions go against the common development direction and undermine the organization's leadership role, as well as the efforts of the international pickleball community.

Since then, UPA decided to terminate the contract with the tennis player currently ranked 6th in the world in men's singles.

The decision to terminate the contract was made after the 20-year-old player missed the Major League Pickleball (MLP) Midseason Tournament - a mandatory tournament that took place from July 9-13 in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA). Instead of competing, Duong appeared at a pickleball event in Nha Trang (Vietnam) on July 11-12, and participated in many other activities during the MLP tournament.

UPA asserted that Quang Duong was not allowed to be absent from the above tournament and had seriously violated the terms of the contract. Previously, in May, he was fined 50,000 USD for participating in a tournament not under the UPA system in Vietnam.

Quang Duong, full name Duong Thien Quang, born in 2004, is a professional pickleball player of Vietnamese origin currently competing in the US. He used to be a tennis player before switching to pickleball in 2022 and quickly attracted attention thanks to his persistent playing style and good technique.

Quang Duong is currently ranked 6th in the world in men's singles and is one of the most outstanding young athletes in the tournament system organized by UPA.

Messi surpasses 'King of Football' Pele's record

A brace in Inter Miami's 2-1 win over New England Revolution on July 10 helped Messi become the first player in history to score a brace in four consecutive matches in the MLS (USA).

This match also helped the former Barca star reach a memorable milestone of 65 matches since coming to the US to play, officially surpassing the record of 64 matches of "King of Football" Pele who played for the New York Cosmos team (from 1975 to 1977).

During his time playing in the US, Pele scored 37 goals and had 18 assists. This record has now been officially broken by Messi. The Argentine superstar has now scored 54 goals and had 24 assists, becoming the player with the most goals in the history of Inter Miami.

At the moment in MLS, Messi has 14 goals, only 2 goals behind the current top scorer Sam Surridge (Nashville SC scored 16 goals). The former Barca star also has 7 assists in 15 matches in the 2025 MLS season so far.

Messi currently has a contract with Inter Miami until December 2025, however, sources in Argentina revealed that M10 is considering leaving the American team. Messi needs to find a more suitable playing environment, maintain his form and peak physical condition before competing in the 2026 World Cup taking place in June 2026.

Messi has always affirmed his love for Barcelona and is still leaving open the possibility of returning to his old home, where the striker scored 672 goals and won 35 titles.

In addition, an equally emotional destination is Newell's Old Boys, Messi's boyhood team in his hometown of Rosario (Argentina).

Son Heung-min left out of Tottenham's dream team

The British press does not include the Korean striker in Tottenham's ideal squad for the 2025/26 season.

The Mirror has named Morgan Gibbs-White and Mohammed Kudus, two players set to join Tottenham, in Thomas Frank's starting line-up for next season. The two signings, worth a combined total of over £100m, are expected to be a significant upgrade to Spurs' attack.

In the center forward role, Yoane Wissa, a Brentford star who is also being sought after by Tottenham, is in the starting lineup. Despite having only 1 year left on his contract, Wissa is still being asked for 50 million pounds by Brentford. In the 2024/25 season, the 28-year-old striker scored 19 goals and had 4 assists for Brentford in the Premier League.

Mirror assessed that the understanding in working style between Wissa and coach Frank is the key to helping Tottenham complete this deal in the summer.

At left-back, Mathys Tel is expected to start for Frank. The 20-year-old was part of Spurs' historic run to end their 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League.

Son Heung-min, Tottenham's current captain, was left out of the Mirror. The South Korean striker's future is a big question mark, as his contract expires in the summer of 2026. Currently, neither side has made any moves to extend it.

Son is expected to meet directly with coach Frank this weekend. The Danish strategist highly values ​​Son's influence and wants to keep him.

In Tottenham's midfield and defence, Mirror has not made many changes. Faces like Bentancur, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven or Vicario will still have important roles at Spurs.

Tottenham will have a friendly match against Reading on July 19 to review the squad and test tactics.