Four V-League Clubs Fall in the 2026-2027 National Cup: When the Decisive Whistle Had Already Blown

At Quy Nhon stadium, around the 75th minute of the match between Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Hung Yen, I noticed a small detail that television viewers could hardly see: the home defenders kept glancing toward the bench before every throw-in. It was the sign of a collective that had run out of both stamina and belief. In the 77th minute, Hung Yen scored to make it 3-1. The four minutes of stoppage time were only enough for Hoang Anh Gia Lai to pull one back to 2-3 from the penalty spot in the 90+4th minute.

Over the weekend, eight qualifying matches of the 2026-2027 National Cup saw four V-League clubs lose to first-division representatives. Three of them fell on home soil. This is hardly the first time big clubs have stumbled in cup competition. But how they fell, and what happened behind the scenes, is what matters most.

The Results Picture of the 2026-2027 National Cup Qualifying Round

| Match-up | V-League Club | Result | First-Division Opponent | Venue | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Bac Ninh | Won 3-2 | Long An | Away | | 2 | Thanh Hoa | Lost 0-2 | Becamex Ho Chi Minh City | Home | | 3 | Hoang Anh Gia Lai | Lost 2-3 | Hung Yen | Quy Nhon | | 4 | Hai Phong | Lost 0-1 | Thep Can Tho | Home | | 5 | Hong Linh Ha Tinh | Lost 2-3 (penalties) | Phu Tho | Away |

Apart from Bac Ninh, every other V-League representative exited the competition. A failure rate of four out of five is a figure any analyst must stop and dissect. But if we only look at the scoreboard, we miss a more important question: what goal did these teams actually enter the match with?

Context: The Cup as a Cost Problem

For many V-League clubs, especially those without title ambitions, the National Cup has never been the main battlefield. The deeper they go, the greater the costs of travel, accommodation and squad rotation, while survival in the V-League matters far more. A survival spot means keeping sponsorship money flowing, keeping the television contract, keeping an entire organization alive.

For that reason, the big clubs often approach the National Cup rather casually. They field mixed lineups, push young players onto the pitch, and sometimes accept defeat as part of the season's plan. By contrast, first-division teams enter the match hungry to prove themselves, motivated by the chance to face stronger opponents. The gap in commitment reversed the gap in class.

Thanh Hoa is the clearest example. The club from Thanh province only knew it still existed just before the 2026-2027 V-League kicked off, with a limited squad because there was not enough money to retain key players or sign newcomers. Before facing Becamex Ho Chi Minh City, they also faced a fresh financial worry: FIFA demanded payment of more than 305,000 USD, equivalent to about 8 billion VND, to striker Rimario Gordon after the player filed a claim. If the matter is not resolved within 45 days of the document dated September 16, 2026, Thanh Hoa will be banned from registering new players for three transfer windows.

The irony lies in this: the debt arose during the tenure of the previous sponsor, while the club has now been transferred to a new sponsor. A club carrying the financial legacy of its predecessor treating an expensive competition lightly is a perfectly rational governance response. I have seen many European clubs choose the same path when falling into financial crisis, and no one called it cowardice.

Analysis: Class Overwhelmed by Commitment

Becamex Ho Chi Minh City had just been relegated to the first division and is now a candidate for promotion back. Their squad is in no way inferior to Thanh Hoa's, and they played with more determination. The 2-0 away win was not luck; it was the inevitable result of one team entering with a clear goal while the other entered with its mind elsewhere.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai faced a double disadvantage. Pleiku stadium is being renovated due to poor drainage during heavy and continuous rain, forcing the team to play temporarily in Quy Nhon. Without the familiar support of home fans, and facing a Hung Yen full of ambition, the squad under coach Le Quang Trai quickly fell behind. This season's squad is thinner than last season's, after two consecutive opening defeats in the V-League. In that context, committing fully to the survival race is the only sensible choice.

Hai Phong lost 0-1 to Thep Can Tho on home soil. Notably, Thep Can Tho had just relocated from Quang Ninh to the Tây Đô region and had lost its opening match of the 2026-2027 first division. Striker Thaileon, who had joined the club only days earlier, scored the only goal in the first half. A newcomer who had not even settled in yet scoring the decisive goal against a V-League opponent says a great deal about the home side's level of focus.

Hong Linh Ha Tinh drew 0-0 after 90 minutes and then lost to Phu Tho 2-3 on penalties. This is the classic scenario of a team treating the cup as a burden: they were good enough to hold their opponent during regulation, but when it came to the shootout, both psychological preparation and the penalty-taking order showed a difference in seriousness. A penalty shootout was never just luck. It is the clearest record of who prepared for that moment and who did not.

From a referee's perspective, I always remind my students that a lawful decision can still be wrong in essence if it ignores the real intent of the person involved. This year's National Cup is exactly such a decision at club level: they played by the rules, fulfilled their obligations, but their real intent lay elsewhere. Data does not blow the whistle, but it illuminates the corners the naked eye misses. When I place the four defeats beside the V-League's dense schedule, the picture becomes clear: these clubs did not lose because they were weak, they lost because they chose to.

Contrarian View: An Early Exit Can Be a Long-Term Win

Fans have every right to be angry. They pay for tickets, arrange their time to go to the stadium, and get back a squad that is not the strongest. That emotion is entirely justified, and football would die if no one were angry about defeats like these.

But seen from the coach's seat, an early exit from the National Cup can be a good thing. Hoang Anh Gia Lai escapes a congested schedule, escapes costly travel, and gains extra time to recover for the survival battle. Hai Phong and Hong Linh Ha Tinh are the same. For them, a loss in September might save a few precious points in April.

There are situations with no absolutely correct answer, only people who make a decision with enough courage to take responsibility. The clubs' leadership chose the survival goal, which means they must accept criticism if the plan fails. That is the price of the right to self-determination.

What I still find missing is transparency. If a club publicly declared that it uses the National Cup as a launchpad for young players and prioritizes the V-League, fans would have the right expectations. Instead of playing as if trying to win and then losing in silence, they could turn a cup match into a purposeful test. The fairness fans need is not only accuracy on the pitch, but honesty in words before the ball rolls.

Looking at a match through a referee's eye means seeing what no one else sees, and learning not to rush to conclusions. One defeat can be a surprise, but four defeats in two days is a pattern. And a pattern can always be verified by the data of the following rounds.

A Progressive Conclusion

As the National Cup qualifying round has planted the seeds for major meetings between first-division newcomers and V-League giants, the question is no longer who beats whom. What is worth watching is whether Becamex Ho Chi Minh City, Thep Can Tho or Hung Yen have enough resources to advance without sacrificing their promotion goals. The next round will answer. And then we will know who only won because the opponent did not want to win, and who is truly improving.