Xuan Son, Quang Hai have a chance to compete with Ronaldo at the Asian Cup; Messi decides on the future

Xuan Son, Quang Hai have the chance to compete with Ronaldo at the Asian Cup

According to the latest announcement from the organizing committee of C2 Asia 2025/26, Al Nassr Club will compete in the tournament as the third-placed team in the Saudi Pro League 2024/25.

The top two teams of the 2024/25 Saudi Pro League, Al Ittihad and Al Hilal, have secured spots in the AFC Champions League Elite next season.

The 2025/26 AFC Cup C2 is where Nam Dinh Club - V-League 2024/25 champion and Hanoi Police Club - National Cup 2024/25 champion participate.

It will be interesting if Nguyen Xuan Son (Nam Dinh), Nguyen Quang Hai (Hanoi Police) and many other stars of the Vietnamese national team can face Cristiano Ronaldo directly.

This can only happen when Al Nassr (West Asia region) and Nam Dinh or Hanoi Police (East Asia region) go deep into the tournament.

C2 Asia 2025/26 with the participation of 32 clubs from 24 AFC member federations will officially start from September 16, 2025, the final on May 16, 2026.

Striker Nguyen Tien Linh joins the Police team

Striker Nguyen Tien Linh attracted attention when he prepared to leave Binh Duong after 8 years of association to join the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club.

On the afternoon of August 1, Tien Linh had his last training session in the jersey of the team from the land of Thu. After the training session, the striker born in 1997 sent his gratitude to the leadership, coaching staff and teammates. He could not hide his emotions and shed tears when closing a journey of more than 8 years with many ups and downs.

It is known that Tien Linh and the club have reached an agreement to terminate the contract one year ahead of schedule. This is a surprising move as he has just had an impressive 2024/25 season, winning the domestic top scorer title and making great contributions to the national team.

Growing up from Binh Duong's youth training center, Tien Linh debuted in V-League in 2017 and quickly made a name for himself. He scored a total of 71 goals in 147 matches, helping the team maintain its position in the highest level of Vietnamese football. In addition to 2 domestic Golden Boot titles, he is also the only Vietnamese player to ever win the AFF Cup Golden Boot. His brilliant 2024 season also helped him win the Vietnam Golden Ball title.

Tien Linh's departure is considered a big loss for Binh Duong (recently renamed Becamex Ho Chi Minh City), a team that is entering a period of rebuilding its force.

Tien Linh's next destination will be Ho Chi Minh City Police Club - a new team re-established from the old foundation of Ho Chi Minh City Club. In addition to appointing coach Le Huynh Duc, this team also recruited a series of notable faces such as Duc Huy, Van Kien and Duong Van Hao.

Recruiting Tien Linh is considered a strategic move to increase the strength of the attack, aiming to make an impression in the first season of the return of this police team.

Vietnam women's volleyball promoted to world ranking

The Vietnamese women's team had an impressive opening victory at SEA V.League 2025 (afternoon of August 1) when they defeated Indonesia in 3 games.

An extremely effective day for the Vietnamese blockers as they continuously neutralized powerful shots from captain Megawati Pertiwi - the most dangerous attacking spearhead of the Indonesian side. In the back line, libero Khanh Dang maintained his form with quick and accurate saves, contributing significantly to helping the Vietnamese team maintain their overwhelming advantage throughout the match.

After creating a safe gap in the first two games with the same score of 25-11, Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet proactively tested the lineup in the third game, giving the opportunity to many faces who often sit on the bench such as Kim Thoa, Le Thanh Thuy, Pham Thi Hien. Although these "replacement" characters all played effectively, middle blocker Bich Thuy still played the most outstandingly with her excellent ability to cut points, confidently attacking with clear effectiveness in every situation at the net.

The Vietnamese women's team will aim for another favorable result against the Philippines on the afternoon of August 2 to prepare for the battle for the runner-up title with the Thai team on the final day of competition.

The 3-0 victory over Indonesia not only helped coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his players rise to the top of the tournament but also helped the Vietnamese team continue to reach a historic milestone. The Vietnamese team was awarded 4.11 points after the match against Indonesia, thereby surpassing the three teams Slovenia, Mexico and Cuba to rise from 27th to 24th in the world.

This is the highest ranking in history for Vietnamese women's volleyball, continuing the continuous achievements in the past 3 years. The new score of 145.32 also helps the Vietnamese team shorten the gap with rival Thailand - the team ranked 20th in the world with 160.42 points.

Because they are participating in the Nations League, the Thai team will not be counted by FIVB for points from the SEA V.League matches. Therefore, if they can accumulate maximum points from the matches against Indonesia and the Philippines, the Vietnamese team will have a chance to dream of winning the championship in the two SEA V.League matches this year, in addition to approaching Thailand on the world rankings.

Isak causes outrage in Newcastle

According to Mirror, the relationship between Isak and the rest of the team deteriorated after the striker expressed his intention to leave, even willing to do everything to make Newcastle sell him. Isak's actions caused division within the team.

“He didn’t go on the Asia tour, despite manager Eddie Howe insisting Isak would be part of the squad,” a Newcastle insider said. “That left everyone very angry, as they felt he was no longer committed to the club.”

According to The Guardian, coach Howe tried to convince Isak to stay at the club next season but failed. That led to Newcastle United deciding to remove Isak from the list of 30 players participating in the tour in Asia.

The Magpies' board initially announced that the player was absent due to injury. However, shortly after, the British media reported that Isak had asked to leave Newcastle and not participate in the tour. Some Newcastle players said that Isak's actions were too disrespectful to the team.

Messi closes the future

According to Catalunya Radio, Messi is close to signing a contract extension with Inter Miami, which will run until 2028. If the deal goes through, Messi will turn 41 in the final year of his contract at the American club.

Messi's current contract with Inter Miami will expire at the end of the 2025 MLS season. The agreement includes a 12-month extension clause, giving him the opportunity to participate in the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

Messi's future has been a big question mark for some time now, although he has always admitted to the press that he is very satisfied with his life in the US. Teams in the Saudi Pro League and his old club Newell's Old Boys have been considered Messi's next destination.

Inter Miami is also very willing to keep Messi for the long term thanks to the professional contributions and great commercial value that M10 brings. The club is also actively recruiting former teammates to play alongside Messi, most recently the case of midfielder Rodrigo De Paul.

On July 31, Messi scored a brace of assists to help Inter Miami beat Atlas 2-1 in the first round of the Leagues Cup. M10 continues to maintain his top form by contributing to 30 goals (21 goals, 9 assists) in just 25 matches in all competitions. In the last 6 matches, the former Barcelona star reached his peak form with 8 goals and 5 assists./.