2026-2027 National Cup: Four V-League representatives fall to the ambition of the First Division

Quy Nhon Stadium on Sunday afternoon was not exactly empty, but the atmosphere was so foreign that the dust-covered stands seemed to still remember Pleiku. Hoang Anh Gia Lai — the mountain-town club forced to leave home because the pitch had poor drainage during continuous heavy rain — was standing on a stage that was not theirs. And they lost, 2-3 to Hung Yen, a First Division club full of ambition. The 2-3 consolation goal from the penalty spot in the 90+4 minute was merely a late minor note in the symphony of helplessness. Not only Hoang Anh Gia Lai. In the eight matches of the 2026-2027 National Cup qualifying round played over the weekend, four V-League representatives fell. Three of them lost at home. Only Bac Ninh Club saved face for the top flight with a 3-2 win over Long An away from home. Those four defeats were not accidents. They were confessions. Thanh Hoa Club, a team hanging between life and financial death, lost 0-2 to Becamex TP.HCM right on their own turf. Their opponents had just been relegated — a club with the Becamex brand and a squad core still V-League worthy. They played with more determination, better organization, and did not need much effort to make Thanh Hoa realize where they stood. Three days before the match, FIFA ordered Thanh Hoa to pay over 305,000 USD (about 8 billion VND) to Rimario Gordon — the Jamaican striker who had filed a complaint with FIFA. If the case is not resolved within 45 days from receiving the document on September 16, the club will be banned from registering new players for three transfer windows. The complication: this debt belongs to the previous sponsor's tenure, while the club has now been handed over to a new sponsor. A ghost from the past is gripping their throat. Hai Phong Club lost 0-1 to Thep Can Tho — a team that just relocated its "household registration" from Quang Ninh to the western region. They had lost their opening match in the 2026-2027 First Division, yet found their first victory right at Lach Tray. The only goal was scored by Thaileon, a striker who joined the club just a few days earlier. A new contract whose name had not yet been printed on the jersey, but who had already left a mark in a match where Hai Phong seemed to be saving energy for the long season. They started the 2026-2027 V-League with one loss and one win, enough to know that survival is still the main destination, and the National Cup is a train station they have no intention of stopping at. Hong Linh Ha Tinh, a team with a similar start, left Phu Tho stadium with a 2-3 defeat on penalties after a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes. The match had no goals, but was full of calculations. They looked at the clock, looked at the fixture list, and decided that the football they gave today was not what they needed to survive in the V-League. Vietnamese football fans might ask: why are the top-flight clubs so indifferent? The answer lies in the structure of the league and the obsession called survival. For clubs without championship ambitions, the National Cup is an additional cost: travel expenses, accommodation, compensation for potential injuries. The deeper you go, the more expensive it gets. Meanwhile, the bottom of the V-League takes the shape of an abyss — relegation means losing sponsors, losing fans, losing the very identity of the club. Thanh Hoa Club is the clearest image of this fatigue. They only knew they still existed right before the 2026-2027 V-League kicked off. With a limited squad due to insufficient funds to keep key players, they came into the match against Becamex TP.HCM with the weight of 305,000 USD hanging over their heads. When you are struggling to figure out whether you can pay salaries next month, a National Cup match — a competition that offers nothing but pride — means nothing more than another footprint in the sand. Hoang Anh Gia Lai also carries their own burden. Two consecutive losses at the start of the 2026-2027 V-League showed the bleak picture of a team racing against relegation. Their squad this season is even thinner than last year, and when facing a Hung Yen team playing with a nothing-to-lose spirit, they fell 1-3 by the 77th minute before a consolation goal in stoppage time. In football, some defeats carry a message of liberation. An early exit from the National Cup might be a blessing for coach Le Quang Trai's men: they will not have to split their focus between two fronts, not have to spread an already fragile squad, and can devote all their energy to the survival battle. Is there a paradox here? While V-League clubs treat the National Cup as a playground to discard, First Division clubs consider it a stage to assert themselves. Becamex TP.HCM, Hung Yen, Thep Can Tho, Phu Tho — they fight not just for a win, but for a declaration that they deserve to stand higher. For a First Division club, a victory over a V-League team is worth more than a whole season finishing second in the second tier. It sends a signal to sponsors, to fans, to the people involved that the club is heading in the right direction. Thaileon scored for Thep Can Tho just days after arriving at his new club. He came without needing time to adapt, without deep understanding of tactics, just a moment to prove he was a worthy signing. Meanwhile, V-League clubs seem to be saving their moments. They are like hunters who do not want to fire their first shot at an unworthy prey — they conserve energy, conserve bullets, and wait for the real season to begin. This truth reminds me of matches I have followed for years in both Vietnam and China. The National Cup in many Southeast Asian countries always carries the shadow of a "playground for the abandoned." It is where big clubs test their bench squads, where young players find opportunities, and where small clubs nurture big dreams. But there is something rarely said: every time a V-League club deliberately lets go of a match, they are telling the audience they do not believe in themselves enough. They are sending a message that merely existing in the top flight is enough — that winning a trophy does not matter as much as avoiding relegation. That is a trade-off Vietnamese football has grown familiar with. But looking deeper, the loss of four V-League clubs this weekend is not just a story of small clubs. It is the story of how a league — the 2026-2027 V-League — is being shaped by fear rather than ambition. When top clubs choose to stand still, they lose not only a match but an opportunity to cultivate a winning culture. How many Thanh Hoa, Hai Phong or Ha Tinh fans will remember these moments? None. They will remember the season they survived. But they will also remember that their club stood by while an opportunity approached — and felt no regret. The National Cup will continue to exist, with the surprises it brings. But what lingers in my mind as I stepped away from the screens showing last weekend's matches is not the scoreline. It is the image of Quy Nhon Stadium without home supporters, the posture of a team trying to save every drop of energy, the silence even when goals were scored. Those empty seats today — will they ever be filled again? Will clubs like Thanh Hoa, HAGL, Hai Phong — teams turning themselves into losers before entering the battle — find their belief again? When belief runs dry, it is not because the opponent is too strong, but because they themselves no longer wish to move forward.