The race to avoid relegation is extremely hot right at the beginning of the season: HAGL is 'breathless', the former V-League champion is struggling?

The V-League 2025 - 2026 relegation race promises to be heated, with two teams certain to leave the tournament.

V-League relegation race heats up

With 2 direct relegation spots in the 2025 - 2026 season, V-League becomes more tense and dramatic than ever.

Because unlike every year, when only the bottom position is the door to relegation to the first division, while the second-to-last position still brings hope with a play-off ticket (usually the V-League representative will beat the first division team), this season, the risk of relegation will double when even 13th place means having to say goodbye to the tournament.

SLNA (white shirt) and Da Nang Club may have to compete for relegation this season.

PHOTO: DONG NGHI

According to Mr. Tran Anh Tu, Vice President in charge of professional affairs of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), having 2 relegation slots will motivate V-League teams to play with passion and dedication until the last matches. There will no longer be cases where teams run out of motivation and do not play with dedication because of the bond of gratitude, like the "half-believing, half-doubting" story that has existed for many years.

In recent seasons, relegated teams such as Binh Dinh (2024 - 2025), Khanh Hoa (2023 - 2024), Da Nang (2023), Saigon (2022), Quang Nam (2020) all have something in common: young players, or financial potential inferior to the general level.

Even the story of a team that was runner-up last season and relegated the following season like Binh Dinh is not surprising, because when... they run out of money and have all their good players taken by other teams, the martial arts team collapses as a matter of course. Candidates for relegation are often "named and shamed" before the tournament, and the reality is often not much different from predictions.

In terms of strength, this season the teams that have to compete for survival are probably still in the group: HAGL, Ha Tinh , SLNA and Da Nang.

unpredictable

HAGL has been in a relegation race in 8 of the last 10 seasons, usually only being safe in the last 2 or 3 rounds. This season, the squad under coach Le Quang Trai is still young and fragile, as a series of good players such as Minh Vuong, Ngoc Quang, Quang Nho, Ly Duc... have left the mountain town, leaving Pleiku with a "thin" squad in terms of experience.

HAGL has a very young force.

PHOTO: HAGL Club

With a series of "rough gems" such as Trung Kien, Hoang Minh, Quang Kiet, Gia Bao... HAGL will participate in V-League with the youngest force in a decade. 10 years ago, the generation of Tuan Anh, Cong Phuong, despite being invested in training in Europe and having played in many international tournaments, still had to wait until the final rounds to be sure of safety in the... 13th division. So with a younger and more immature squad, where will HAGL go?

Another young team struggling to find its way is SLNA. The former V-League champion has been on the decline for the past 8 years, since the last peak called the 2017 National Cup. SLNA trains young people well, but when they reach maturity, talented players leave Vinh Stadium to find new horizons. Therefore, despite training many stars for Vietnamese football, SLNA still fluctuates. Last season, the Nghe An team was honored for using many young players, but paradoxically, those "young shoots" were not protected by a "old bamboo canopy" strong enough to go further than competing for relegation.

SLNA will have to try very hard to escape relegation.

SLNA (yellow shirt) has been used to the relegation race for many years.

Another former champion, Da Nang, also has to make a lot of effort if they want to stay in the league. Last season, coach Le Duc Tuan and his team exploded in the final stages to win a play-off ticket after being at the bottom of the table for more than half of the season. However, the fact that Da Nang FC stayed in the league probably also came from... the very weak performance of Binh Dinh FC (17 matches without a win). It is simply that the worse team is relegated, while the less bad team stays in the V-League.

If they do not improve the quality of foreign players and strengthen their domestic players, Da Nang Club may continue to "wander" this season, when both the soldiers and the "generals" are not outstanding.

Ha Tinh FC has said goodbye to two factors that contributed to last season's success, coach Nguyen Thanh Cong and central defender Adou Minh. The Central representative has only a moderate force, and last season's 5th place needs time to prove whether it came from class or temporary form. Ha Tinh FC needs to accumulate points soon, if they don't want to be caught up in the race for survival.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cuoc-dua-tranh-xuong-hang-cuc-nong-ngay-dau-mua-hagl-kho-tho-cuu-vuong-v-league-lao-dao-185250817000331327.htm