Hot football update on the afternoon of July 16: Vietnam national team 'comes home' after nearly two years.

The Vietnam national team is committed to defending their ASEAN title when they return to My Dinh for the 2026 AFF Cup. At the same time, Messi remains a contentious figure at the World Cup, Argentina receives accolades from MARCA, while MU and Arsenal are generating significant transfer activity.

Indonesian media discusses the "loss" suffered by the Vietnam national team.

The fact that center-back Do Duy Manh will miss the 2026 AFF Cup due to a knee injury has drawn attention from Indonesian media. BolaSport considers this to be good news for the Garuda Team as the Vietnam team loses an experienced leader in defense. The newspaper suggests that coach Kim Sang-sik is facing a personnel challenge after both Duy Manh and Le Ngoc Bao left the squad due to injuries, forcing him to possibly consider adding new players. Nonetheless, the current Southeast Asian champions are still speeding up their preparations, aiming to defend their title at the 2026 AFF Cup, where Vietnam and Indonesia are both placed in Group A.

Vietnam national team returns to My Dinh

After nearly two years, My Dinh Stadium will once again become the home ground of the Vietnam national team for the 2026 AFF Cup, marking an opportunity for coach Kim Sang-sik and his players to erase the curse that has haunted the team. Although this venue has witnessed two AFF Cup titles in 2008 and 2018, My Dinh is also associated with many defeats under recent coaches, including a loss to Indonesia that caused Philippe Troussier to lose his job.

With an upgraded squad, the maturity of many key players, and emerging young talents, the Vietnam team confidently aims to defend the Southeast Asian crown while asserting their dominance on their home ground, which has been renovated and upgraded.

Messi sparks controversy at the World Cup

Lionel Messi becomes the center of attention after Argentina's 2-1 victory over England in the 2026 World Cup semifinal, where he escaped punishment despite a dangerous tackle on Djed Spence. The incident sparked strong reactions from English players and fans, who believed the Argentine captain deserved a red card, while the referee and VAR did not intervene.

This is also the second time in the tournament that Messi has been involved in a similar controversy, following a foul on Aissa Mandi in the match against Algeria that also went unpunished. Despite the mixed opinions, Argentina still secured a spot in the final against Spain and now has a chance to defend their world championship.

MARCA praises Argentina

After the 2-1 win over England to reach the 2026 World Cup final, the newspaper MARCA praises Argentina as one of the most fearsome teams in modern football, likening them to having seven lives thanks to repeatedly escaping danger and coming from behind in knockout matches. Coach Lionel Scaloni's squad has maintained a streak of 15 consecutive wins in knockout games since 2019, winning major titles such as the 2022 World Cup, 2021 and 2024 Copa America, and the 2022 Finalissima. If they defeat Spain in the final, Argentina will become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the World Cup title.

Transfer news

According to Mirror, Manchester United has surprisingly offered Atletico Madrid to sign Lisandro Martinez during the 2026 summer transfer window. The Argentine center-back's contract runs only until 2027 (with an extension option), but recurring injuries have cast doubt on his future at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Arsenal is preparing to send an offer of 35 million pounds to inquire about Antonio Nusa after his impressive performance at the 2026 World Cup, although RB Leipzig wants at least 52 million pounds. In other developments, goalkeeper Alex McCarthy turned down Chelsea to prioritize joining Leicester City for regular playing time, while Tottenham is ready to sell captain Cristian Romero for around 42.6 million pounds as both Barcelona and Inter Milan have expressed interest.

Highlight football news

Vietnam's U17 women's team enjoys a big advantage ahead of the Asian qualifiers as they are placed in the top seed group and are one of the host nations, opening up a great opportunity to secure a ticket to the 2027 AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup. Meanwhile, Nguyen Dinh Bac has been Transfermarkt the most increased in value within the Vietnam national team, rising to the second most valuable player ahead of the 2026 AFF Cup.

On the World Cup stage, Lisandro Martinez praised Lionel Messi highly after the victory over England, while Thierry Henry revealed that Marcus Rashford almost came on as a substitute before the turning point that caused the Three Lions to fail.

Notably, young talent Edson DeJonge-Seiros continues to mark an important milestone by signing with an agency, getting closer to his first professional contract with Manchester United.