Xuan Son is fit enough to play against Laos; Barca declares war on Spain coach

Xuan Son is fit enough to play against Laos

Striker Nguyen Xuan Son confirmed that he has reached his best physical condition and is ready to join the Vietnam National Team for the match against Laos in the 5th round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Striker Nguyen Xuan Son had his first training session with the Vietnam National Team on the afternoon of November 11. This was also the first day of preparation for the match against Laos in the 5th round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Sharing about his return, the striker born in 1997 affirmed that he is in good enough physical condition to play in the upcoming match against Laos.

In Group F, Vietnam currently has 9 points, ranking second after Malaysia. The team will have 1 week to prepare before entering the official match with Laos on November 18.

Amorim's Steel Message

The closed-door meeting at Carrington showed Ruben Amorim was ready to take on every star. From Garnacho to Ugarte, no one was exempt as the Portuguese coach insisted: Only those who still have hunger deserve to stay at Manchester United.

Ruben Amorim is known for his outspokenness. Internal meetings at Carrington have shown he is not afraid to clash to reignite the competitive spirit in the dressing room.

According to sources from England, Amorim told Alejandro Garnacho directly that he needed “a better agent”, a message not only about image management, but also about the behavior of a player who wants to become a star.

It wasn’t just Garnacho, there were also a few other names mentioned. Most notably Manuel Ugarte. Amorim had once considered the Uruguayan midfielder a model student at Sporting, but now he was disappointed to see him lose his ambition. In Amorim’s eyes, Ugarte “is no longer the player I knew”, a cold comment but an accurate reflection of his decline since the start of the season.

Barca declares war on Spain coach

Between Barcelona and the Spanish National Team, a "cold war" is breaking out around the name Lamine Yamal.

Behind the 18-year-old prodigy's groin injury is a battle of wits between the club and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), where Hansi Flick and Luis de la Fuente are on opposite sides.

Since Flick publicly accused De la Fuente of “ignoring the health of the players”, the relationship between Barca and the national team has been fractured. In fact, conflicts between clubs and federations are no longer a new thing. The current schedule is packed with La Liga, the Champions League, the Nations League and World Cup qualifiers, putting any star at risk of overload.

Football is becoming more like basketball: The stars only play in major tournaments, while the qualifiers are used as a testing ground for reserve and junior players. It is no longer a question of who deserves to be called up, but who is “allowed” to play.

Barca insist they need to treat Yamal for a groin injury, a persistent and recurring problem. But on medical paper, they have no clear reason to keep the player.

Le Quang Liem and his chance at the World Cup

11/22 players with Elo over 2,700 were eliminated after round 3 and grandmaster Le Quang Liem is facing the opportunity to create a miracle at the 2025 Chess World Cup.

After successfully passing round 3, DKT Le Quang Liem will face Karthik Venkataraman, the 26-year-old player who won the All-India championship last year, to compete for a ticket to round 5. After what both have shown, especially Venkataraman defeating his opponent Deac Bogdan-Daniel, who is nearly 80 Elo higher than him, in round 3, it is not difficult to predict that the battle between Le Quang Liem and Karthik Venkataraman will be extremely attractive.

With a calm style, focusing on controlling the game and knowing how to turn every situation around, Le Quang Liem is expected to quickly decide the match in the 2 standard chess games.

Vietnam's No. 1 chess player is very familiar with all kinds of pressure, maximizing his composure and absolute precision in every move, so he will have the opportunity to overcome the challenge named Karthik Venkataraman.

If everything goes well, Le Quang Liem will be in round 5 waiting to meet a potential opponent, Matthias Bluebaum (Germany, 2,687), who also won a ticket to Candidates 2026. In this bracket, Le Quang Liem is the player with the highest Elo rating but has not yet won a Candidate ticket. Therefore, this will be an opportunity for him to dream of the miracle of reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup to compete for a ticket to the Candidates 2026 arena for the first time, directly choosing the person competing for the title of "Chess King"./.