Vietnam unexpectedly receives sad news from FIFA; First African team to qualify for World Cup

Vietnam unexpectedly received sad news from FIFA

Although not participating in any international friendly matches in September, the Vietnam national football team still dropped 2 places in the latest FIFA rankings, from 113th to 115th in the world.

According to an update from the International Football Federation (FIFA) in early September, the Vietnam national team still maintained its previous score because it did not play any recognized matches. However, the position of the "golden star warriors" was affected by the results of other teams. Specifically, Madagascar was awarded 14.69 points after friendly matches, helping them jump from 115th to 112th place. Similarly, Libya also increased 15.41 points, climbing from 117th to 114th place, thereby pushing Vietnam down.

Vietnam national football team received the news of relegation right after the heavy 0-4 loss to Nam Dinh FC. However, in reality, this match was only internal and training, and was not counted by FIFA. Only international friendly matches, recognized by FIFA, are counted.

The decision not to play international friendlies in September may put the Vietnamese team at a disadvantage as opponents in the near-position have a chance to increase their score. In Southeast Asia, top teams such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are expected to improve their rankings in the FIFA rankings as they will all play official friendlies during FIFA Days this September.

As planned, on September 7, the Vietnam National Team will continue to have another practice match with another quality team, CAHN - the reigning champion of the 2024/25 National Cup and also the representative to participate in the 2025/26 AFC Champions League Two.

The 0-4 defeat of the Vietnam national team against defending champion Nam Dinh was expected as this team possesses a quality foreign squad, aiming to go far in the AFC Champions League Two 2025/26.

Big win, Ho Chi Minh City I takes the lead in the 2025 National Women's Football Championship

With a big win over the Ho Chi Minh City II youth team with a score of 7-0, the students of coach Doan Thi Kim Chi of Ho Chi Minh City I temporarily rose to the top of the overall rankings after the first round of the 2025 National Women's Football Championship.

The latest match of the first round of the National Women's Football Championship - Thai Son Bac Cup 2025 took place between Ho Chi Minh City II - Ho Chi Minh City I. According to the assessment, this is an internal match and the advantage will belong to Ho Chi Minh City I. That comment is not wrong and from the first minute, the students of Coach Doan Thi Kim Chi took control of the game and played dominantly on the field of Ho Chi Minh City II.

On the other hand, the players of Ho Chi Minh City II played very aggressively and were not afraid to clash with their seniors in Ho Chi Minh City I. However, the attacks of the young players of Ho Chi Minh City II were all blocked right from the midfield area. Despite dominating the game, it was not until the 27th minute that the goal came to Ho Chi Minh City I and the scorer was Hong Nhung.

In the 42nd and 43rd minutes, Ho Chi Minh City I Club scored two consecutive goals to raise the score to 3-0, scored by Kim Yen and Thu Thao. Then in the 45th minute, Cu Thi Huynh Nhu raised the score to 4-0 for Ho Chi Minh City I. Leading by 4 goals in the first half, but the attacking power of coach Kim Chi's students did not stop and in the 51st minute, Bao Chau raised the score to 5-0.

Meanwhile, it was not until the second half that Ho Chi Minh City II players had their first dangerous situation towards Ho Chi Minh City I's goal, but the goal still did not come. In the 73rd minute, the score was raised to 6-0 for Ho Chi Minh City I thanks to a header into the own goal of a Ho Chi Minh City II player. Before the match ended, K'Thua scored a goal to raise the score to 7-0 for the home team. With this big win, Ho Chi Minh City I moved to the top of the table.

Scored a super goal against Chile, young Brazilian star made history

In his 6th time wearing the Brazilian shirt, winger Estevao Willian had a memorable experience when he contributed 1 goal to help his team crush Chile 3-0. This is something he had never done before at the National Team level.

When Brazil hosted Chile, Estevao was honored to start from the start by new coach Carlo Ancelotti and he did not disappoint the Italian coach. Estevao's most memorable moment came in the 37th minute, when he was the one to finish off the yellow-green team's impromptu attack.

In this situation, Raphinha failed to beat goalkeeper Vigouroux with a diagonal left-footed shot from a tight angle. However, the ball bounced high, creating an opportunity for Estevao to jump up and perform a bicycle kick that hit the visitors' net.

It can be said that Estevao is the embodiment of the new Brazil of new coach Ancelotti, along with Luiz Enrique (who replaced Estevao and had excellent solo performances in the remaining 2 goals).

Notably, Estevao made his debut for the Brazilian national team at the age of 18 years and 4 months. He became the youngest Brazilian player to score in a World Cup qualifier. Including South America, Estevao ranked 3rd in this category.

In the history of Brazilian football, Estevao is the second youngest player to score in an official match for the team that has won the world championship 5 times. The only person above Estevao is not a stranger but the "king of football" Pele. Remember, in the 1958 World Cup, Pele scored for Brazil at a time when he was a year younger than Estevao (at that time Pele was only 17 years and 4 months old).

First African team to qualify for World Cup

On the morning of September 6, Morocco defeated Niger 5-0, thereby winning tickets to 3 consecutive World Cups for the first time in history.

Ismael Saibari's brace and goals from El Kaabi, Hamza Igamane and Azzedine Ounahi helped Morocco win easily at home in the seventh match of Group E, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Africa.

Achraf Hakimi and his teammates became the first representatives of the black continent to win tickets to North and Central America next summer. Morocco has 18 points after a perfect record, 10 points more than the second-placed team, Tanzania, while there are only 2 matches left in the qualifying round.

This is also the first time in history that the North African team has participated in 3 consecutive World Cups (2018, 2022 and 2026). With a balanced squad of players in all lines and a cohesive playing style, coach Walid Regragui and his team are expected to continue the success of the tournament that took place 3 years ago, when they won 4th place overall.

Morocco's early World Cup qualification was also thanks to Eritrea's withdrawal from the African qualifying round. As a result, Hakimi and his teammates only have to play 8 matches, instead of 10 like in other groups.

While Morocco has secured a ticket to the World Cup early, other big names in Africa such as Egypt, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Senegal,... are not sure of qualifying tickets. The gap between them and the competing teams is only a few points, while there are still 3 matches left.