On August 18, in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan, in his capacity as AFC Executive Committee member and Chairman of the AFC Competitions Committee, attended the draw ceremony for the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite and 2026/27 AFC Champions League Two – the two most prestigious club competitions in Asian football.

The Vietnam National Team is expected to play a friendly match against Chinese Taipei before the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, as part of the September FIFA Days window.

Arsenal enters the new season with a special status after winning the Premier League and a 3-0 demolition of Manchester City in the Community Shield. With many top rivals changing managers and squad upheavals, Arsenal clearly has the biggest advantage.

Bac Ninh Club has just signed its 13th new recruit, an impressive buying spree aimed at securing enough quality to survive its first V-League season. Since 1999, Bac Ninh FC is the 6th rookie team in the V-League.

Written by Han Bing On the afternoon of August 18, the draw for the league stage of the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite (hereafter referred to as the ACL) was completed. The CSL clubs avoided the top-ranked Japanese league team and the Malaysian powerhouse Johor DT, which boasts numerous strong foreign players. This is considered a good draw. Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan need to secure as many points as possible to narrow the gap with the Thai League in the standings.

Reporter Chen Yong reports: Being selected for the regional youth training center selection team and then returning to play matches in his hometown is naturally a glorious and joyful thing for a football teenager from Guizhou. In the second round of the "Spark Cup" International Youth Football Invitational Tournament, the Chinese Football Association Regional Youth Training Center (Chengdu) U14 Selection Team (hereinafter referred to as the "Chengdu Regional Selection Team") defeated Vietnam's Van Xuan Youth Training Center 8-0.

By Nannan. In the early hours of August 19, Choi Seong-ju woke up in the apartment building at the Qingzhen Sports Training Base in Guizhou Province. He pressed his watch, the screen lit up, and four digits were clearly visible: 3:17 AM. Choi usually sleeps well, and there is only a one-hour time difference between South Korea and China, so waking up so early was due to still adjusting to the apartment bed.

Special Contributor/Gan Hui Shenhua's new coach, Milojevic, had a painful debut in the Chinese Super League. In last night's match against Guoan, Shenhua played at home, fired 21 shots, but failed to score a single goal, ultimately losing 0-3. In the post-match analysis, Milojevic mentioned twice that "we created many chances but couldn't convert them into goals," which is actually a long-standing issue that has plagued Shenhua for several seasons.

Special contribution by Song Ci. On August 18, in a make-up match of the 18th round of the Chinese Super League, Guo'an defeated Shenhua 3-0 away. Since August, they have won four consecutive CSL matches, and across two competitions, they have achieved an unbeaten record of 9 wins, 2 draws, and 11 games without defeat. The red-hot Imperial Guards have completely shaken off their mid-season fluctuations, climbing to second place in the standings. This resounding away victory can be regarded as one of Guo'an's classic matches of the season.

Per the AFC's released schedule, Viettel will play their AFC Champions League Two group stage matches at Hang Day Stadium rather than My Dinh Stadium.