Sports Hot News March 15 Evening: Vietnamese Volleyball Champion Receives Important News at Asian Tournament

Sports Hot News March 15 Evening: VTV Bình Điền Long An to Compete in Korea; Pep Guardiola Sends Message to Arsenal...

VTV Bình Điền Long An Will Compete in Korea

According to the website Volleytrails, the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Champions League will take place from April 26–30 at the Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium (Incheon, South Korea). The draw ceremony will be held on March 20 at the Incheon Harbor Park Hotel.

This year, the tournament undergoes major changes, reducing the number of participating teams to 8 and adopting a knockout format from the start instead of the previous group stage. Teams will be drawn into two brackets, playing quarter-finals; winners advance to semi-finals while losers are immediately eliminated, making the competition fiercer.

Vietnam's representative, reigning champion VTV Bình Điền Long An, received a special invitation to the AVC Champions League from the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) despite previously losing to Chonburi VC in the regional qualifiers. In the 2025 season, VTV Bình Điền Long An finished runner-up after losing 1–3 to Zhetysu VC in the final. The top two teams in the 2026 tournament will qualify for the FIVB Club World Championship.

Pep Guardiola Sends Message to Arsenal

Coach Pep Guardiola insists the Premier League title race is not over yet, even though Manchester City just drew with West Ham and trails Arsenal by 9 points.

Coach Pep Guardiola stated: "The race isn't over. Who says that? We haven't lost. We will continue."

"A 9-point gap to Arsenal is significant, but that's the situation. We still have a home game, so we must fight until the end. When it becomes impossible, we will congratulate the champion, but first we must try," the Spanish coach declared.

In the match at West Ham's stadium, Bernardo Silva opened the scoring for Man City with a lob in the 30th minute. However, Konstantinos Mavropanos equalized with a headed goal from a corner, leaving goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma unable to save it. Despite dominating possession, Man City created few dangerous chances and dropped points again.

Guardiola believes the team's biggest issue is finishing ability, failing to score enough goals from created opportunities. Erling Haaland's form has also declined, scoring only 3 goals in his last 12 matches.

Leicester Player Set to Face Vietnam National Team

Midfielder Hamza Choudhury will join the Bangladesh national team late ahead of the friendly match against Vietnam on March 26 at Hàng Đẫy Stadium. Due to still playing for Leicester City in the EFL Championship, the 1997-born midfielder will not participate in the initial phase of the training camp, but will fly directly to Hanoi and join the team on March 22.

Bangladesh is scheduled to assemble from March 16 at Kings Arena and arrive in Vietnam two days before the match. The preliminary squad list includes 38 players, considered the strongest lineup.

Choudhury developed at Leicester, having won the FA Cup 2020–21 and the English Super Cup 2021. After choosing to represent Bangladesh, his mother's homeland, he quickly became a key player with 4 goals in 7 matches. This friendly is also part of Vietnam's preparation for the final AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

Malaysian Newspaper Points Out Vietnam National Team's Worrying Issue

Malaysian sports newspaper Makan Bola suggests the Vietnam national team is revealing a major weakness in attack ahead of the crucial encounter with the Malaysia national team in the final AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

According to Makan Bola's analysis, Malaysia holds a psychological advantage, leading Group F with 15 points after 5 wins, ahead of Vietnam by 3 points before the March 31 match. While Malaysia maintains stable form, Vietnam faces difficulties as several key attacking players are underperforming. Nguyễn Văn Vĩ and Châu Ngọc Quang have not scored in this season's V.League, while Nguyễn Hai Long has only 1 goal.

In this context, Nguyễn Hoàng Đức with 6 goals in V.League is seen as a rare bright spot. The match between the two teams will take place on March 31 at Thiên Trường Stadium. However, the Malaysia national team is about to be handed a default loss for the first-leg match against Vietnam after FIFA discovered "The Malaysian Tigers" forged documents for 7 naturalized players. When AFC imposes the penalty, the group standings will undergo a major shift.

Kimi Antonelli Makes History in F1

Kimi Antonelli made history at the Chinese Grand Prix by securing his first career F1 victory at age 19. The Italian driver from Bologna performed consistently and finished first, surpassing teammate George Russell and seven-time world champion legend Lewis Hamilton. This is a memorable milestone as Antonelli gave Italy its first F1 win in over 20 years.

Hamilton finished third, also achieving his first podium since joining Ferrari. Meanwhile, his teammate Charles Leclerc placed fourth after intense competition throughout most of the race.

Antonelli's victory also placed the Mercedes team on the top podium. Previously, the last time an Italian driver won an F1 race was in 2006, when Giancarlo Fisichella achieved this. Antonelli's achievement is therefore regarded as a historic milestone for Italian motorsport.

Ashley Cole Set to Become Head Coach

Legendary former English defender Ashley Cole is reportedly about to take on his first head coach role in his career. According to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Cole is likely to lead Serie B club Cesena FC after the team dismissed coach Michele Mignani.

Cole, 45, was one of the finest left-backs in modern football, playing for major clubs like Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC. During his career, he played 702 matches, scored 21 goals, winning 3 Premier League titles, 7 FA Cups, and 1 Champions League. At the national level, Cole made 107 appearances for the England national team.

After retiring, Cole transitioned to coaching, having worked at Derby, England's U21 team, Everton, and Birmingham City. He stated that the journey as a coach has helped him understand people better and become a better person.