Hot football news noon 23/7: Indonesia wins AFF championship

The Indonesian women's national team successfully retained the Southeast Asian crown, while media from the island nation also gave high marks to the Vietnamese team's power ahead of the 2026 AFF Cup; in addition to significant events concerning MU, AFA, and the transfer market.

Indonesian media highly rates the strength of the Vietnam national team

Just days before the 2026 AFF Cup, Indonesian media pays special attention to the Vietnam national team. Website Bola.com states The team of coach Kim Sang-sik is one of the top candidates for the championship, especially thanks to the trio of naturalized Brazilian players including Nguyễn Xuân Son, Đỗ Hoàng Hên, and Nguyễn Tài Lộc. The newspaper believes that the trio above could become a major threat to any defense in the tournament. Along with goalkeeper Lê Giang Patrik, the naturalized players are expected to strengthen the Vietnamese team in their quest to defend the title.

Vietnam is in Group A with Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Timor Leste, with the match against Indonesia predicted to be decisive for the top spot in the group.

Indonesia successfully defends the Southeast Asian throne

The Indonesian women's team concluded the 2026 AFF Women's Cup with an impressive 5-0 victory over Laos in the final held on the evening of July 22 at Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium. Sydney Hopper opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, before Isabelle Nottet, Estella Loupatty, Felicia de Zeeuw, and captain Emily Nahon each found the net to complete a dominant performance by coach Satoru Mochizuki's squad.

This is the second consecutive time Indonesia has won the title at the tournament after the 2024 championship. With this result, Indonesia, Laos, and Singapore have officially secured their spots in the 2027 ASEAN Women's Championship, where they will join top regional teams including Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Australia.

Mainoo returns in time for the new season

MU received positive news as Kobbie Mainoo's back injury was confirmed not to be serious. According to The Athletic, the 21-year-old midfielder will rest for about three weeks after completing his duties with England at the 2026 World Cup and is expected to return during the Red Devils' training camp in Dublin starting August 10.

Mainoo suffered the injury during a training session before the third-place match against France and did not play a single minute at the World Cup despite being on the squad list throughout the tournament. MU hopes this break will help the English player recover both physically and mentally, thus being ready to compete for a position under coach Michael Carrick ahead of the friendly against Leeds United.

AFA denies reports of President Tapia being investigated in the US

Argentine media reported that AFA President Claudio Tapia and some delegation members were approached by US agents at JFK Airport, who requested to hand over electronic devices for investigation, causing a delay of over two hours to the flight back to Buenos Aires. However, AFA immediately denied this information and stated that no such incident as described had occurred. These speculations emerged amid US authorities investigating AFA's international commercial contracts, focusing on hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly flowing through the US banking system. To date, the case remains under investigation with no official conclusion.

Transfer news

Inter Miami is being investigated by MLS after LA Galaxy filed a complaint that Lionel Messi's team improperly approached Casemiro before signing the Brazilian midfielder on a free transfer. Meanwhile, the deal for Alejandro Garnacho to Aston Villa is reportedly facing obstacles as both Chelsea and Aston Villa must be cautious with UEFA's financial regulations, making a loan with an option to buy the preferred option.

In other developments, Crysencio Summerville decided to join Al Hilal on a four-year contract, ending interest from AS Roma and Manchester United. Additionally, Newcastle maintains a firm stance by demanding more than £80 million if Arsenal wants to acquire midfielder Bruno Guimaraes in the summer transfer window.