U23 Vietnam shows high determination before the opening match of Southeast Asian tournament; MU reaches agreement to recruit 'blockbuster' with shocking price

U23 Vietnam shows high determination before the opening match of Southeast Asian tournament

On the afternoon of July 18, the U23 Vietnam players had an important tactical training session at the GBK Madya Stadium in Jakarta, before entering the opening match against the Laos team at the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament. The weather in the Indonesian capital was quite ideal, no rain and the field was of good quality, creating favorable conditions for the whole team to focus on tactical exercises. All the players were present, including midfielder Le Van Thuan, who was called up to replace Thanh Nhan - a player who had just suffered a serious injury and could not participate in the tournament.

This training session is extremely important, helping the Coaching Board make final decisions about the starting lineup. This is also an opportunity for the whole team to strengthen their spirit and prepare mentally for the meaningful opening match.

At the training session, the Coaching Board especially emphasized the importance of following the tactical diagram, smooth coordination between positions and individual techniques of each player.

Goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien shared that he and the whole team are fully focused on the match on July 19 with U23 Laos, "full of determination and the highest fighting spirit to achieve the best result".

Coach Mai Duc Chung warns of difficulties at the 2025 Southeast Asian women's football tournament

In an interview with the media on July 18, coach Mai Duc Chung admitted that the goal of conquering the 2025 Southeast Asian women's football tournament will be very difficult as many teams increase their naturalized players.

Coach Mai Duc Chung said that he reminded the players during the week off after the Asian women's qualifiers to maintain physical training on site, so when they returned to training, the coaching staff quickly increased the intensity of the players' exercises.

Evaluating the results of the players' training after the first week, coach Mai Duc Chung said: "Despite the hot weather, the whole team's training spirit is commendable. The only unfortunate case is that Tuyet Ngan suddenly had an appendectomy during the training session with everyone. Therefore, the coaching staff will let Tuyet Ngan return home to be cared for by her family, thereby quickly recovering. But the good news is that Thanh Nha will start returning with the team from next week. The force is generally complete to prepare for training in Quang Ninh."

In the upcoming training trip, the coaching staff aims to increase the physical strength of running along the beach and the overall endurance of the whole team. Coach Mai Duc Chung also commented that the upcoming Southeast Asian women's tournament will be more difficult because many Southeast Asian teams have naturalized, of which Indonesia has almost completely naturalized its team.

Regarding the young players called up for this training session, coach Mai Duc Chung said that the coaching staff has been selective. “After the national women's championship, we will continue to call up more young faces for further training. Many young faces have progressed very quickly. Continuous training time with other training programs at the club, and training with experienced players are probably part of the reasons that help the players make significant progress. The coaching staff also always reminds the young players to always be confident and determined. The coaching staff is ready to arrange for young players to compete if they are in good form,” coach Mai Duc Chung emphasized.

Vietnam women's volleyball team regrettably lost to the Netherlands

Defeating U21 Canada, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team met U21 Netherlands in the semi-finals of the 2025 Shanghai Volleyball Tournament. Coach Ngoc Hoa's team's opponents are considered high quality, with superior advantages in terms of physique and physical strength.

However, the Vietnamese girls are very confident. Before entering the semi-finals, Nguyen Thi Phuong and her teammates only lost 1 match against U21 China, the rest were wins against U21 Bauru, U21 France and most recently U21 Canada in the quarter-finals.

The Vietnamese women's volleyball team had a difficult start against the diverse attacking style of the U21 Netherlands. The European team took the lead 7/4, 16/13, 20/15, before winning 25/23 in the first set.

In set 2, coach Nguyen Ngoc Hoa's team did better in step 1 and improved the efficiency of their smashes. The Vietnamese women's volleyball team took the lead 3/0, 8/6, but then their opponents equalized 14/14, 19/19. Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh had a smash that helped the VTV Cup 2025 champion take the lead 21/19, before winning the set with a score of 25/20.

Entering set 3, the two teams played an exciting tug-of-war. The final moments of the set were extremely tense as the Vietnamese women's volleyball team and the Netherlands U21 team chased the score. After the score was 23/23, Nguyen Thi Phuong had a decisive shot to win the set 25/23, raising the score to 2-1.

In set 4, hasty decisions caused the Vietnamese women's volleyball team to lose 4 points in a row. However, Kieu Trinh and her teammates tried to recover each point, tying the score at 6/6. Unfortunately, at the end of the set, U21 Netherlands played very well, winning 25/23.

Tied 2-2, the two teams had to settle the score in set 5. U21 Netherlands led 5/2, 7/3, 8/5, 10/7, before winning 15/12, winning 3-2 to reach the final. Unfortunately losing, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team will compete for third place at 3:00 p.m. on July 19.

MU reached an agreement to recruit "blockbuster" Mbeumo at a shocking price

After a long period of negotiation, MU has reached an agreement to recruit Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo at an extremely high price.

MU is having a difficult transfer season. While big rivals such as Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal continuously welcome expensive new players, MU only has 2 new contracts with Matheus Cunha of Wolves and little-known young talent Diego Leon.

In recent times, MU has been "bogged down" in the deal to recruit Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford. The Red Devils have identified Mbeumo as an important transfer target like Cunha. However, their initial offers did not meet Brentford's requirements.

According to British media, MU is determined not to give in to Brentford to avoid being forced to pay a higher price like in past deals. However, with other clubs continuously spending money to recruit players with prices ranging from 50 to 60 million pounds, MU's position is shaky. Even though they do not face competition from big rivals, MU understands that they do not have much time to "bargain" with Brentford.

In the end, MU was forced to accept the concession and pay the price that Brentford wanted. Specifically, MU will have to pay 65 million pounds in transfer fees and pay an additional 6 million pounds depending on Mbeumo's performance. This is a significantly higher number than the initial fee that MU offered (50 million pounds plus 5 million pounds in additional fees).

Mbeumo joined Brentford for £5.8m in 2019 and has scored 70 goals in 242 games, including 42 in 136 Premier League games. The Cameroon winger has attracted interest from a number of big clubs, but only Manchester United have really pursued him.

At Old Trafford, MU will play as a right-sided attacking midfielder in Ruben Amorim's 3-4-2-1 formation. Together with Cunha, he is expected to solve MU's ineffective attacking problem last season.

Grealish isolated at Man City

Jack Grealish has returned to Manchester City but has been training alone, a sign he is no longer in his parent club's plans for next season.

According to the Telegraph, Grealish does not object to having to train alone at Manchester City, because the player is also aware that he is likely to be sold by the club this summer. Previously, the £100 million contract was not included in the list of participants in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Pep Guardiola's decision was to help Grealish prepare physically and mentally for a summer transfer. However, so far, the deal has not materialized. Grealish is working with personal trainer Jamie Reynolds to maintain the best physical condition, ready for the new season.

More than six weeks have passed since Grealish was told by Pep that he should leave Manchester City this summer. However, finding a new destination for the English star is not easy. Manchester City prioritize a permanent sale, but Grealish's transfer fee and high wages make other clubs hesitate.