The defending champion has no way back.

UPES still has life, still has hope

After the unexpected defeat in the opening match against the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, coach Pham Thai Vinh of the defending champion Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports (UPES) admitted that there was a 90% chance that his team would have to stop at the group stage. With only 7 first-place teams from 7 groups and 1 second-place team with the best record being selected for the play-off round, the loss to a direct competitor in group 1 put the defending champion team in a difficult situation. To win the group, the players of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports must win the remaining 2 matches against the Saigon Polytechnic College and the University of Finance and Marketing, and at the same time hope that the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport will stumble against these 2 opponents. However, in reality, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports needs to win the remaining 2 matches to hope for the possibility of entering the play-off round with the place reserved for the second-place team with the best record.

The defending champion team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports (right) faced many difficulties after losing the opening match.

"The chance of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports team entering the play-off round is only 10%, but even if there is 1% left, we will still fight with all our might. UPES never gives up," said coach Pham Thai Vinh.

Meanwhile, the University of Finance and Marketing, after the unfortunate 1-2 loss to the Saigon Polytechnic College, had no way back and had to use all their strength to fight UPES. However, with a small force, a rather simple playing style and a not-so-good physical foundation at the end of the match, the University of Finance and Marketing found it difficult to cause a surprise like the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport did against UPES.

The University of Technical Education team is confident

Also today, the first round of matches of group 7 took place with 2 pairs including Vietnam Aviation Academy - Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Sciences - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education. In this group, the team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education is rated the highest. Coach Tran Manh Hung confidently said: "The goal of the team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education is to win the first place in group 7 and a ticket to the play-off round. This year we added 40% of the force, the new players have integrated quite well, and together with the team achieved success in some tournaments before TNSV THACO cup 2025. Hopefully, the players will maintain their form to reach the goal set by the whole team".

In this year's season, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education team no longer has the main player Nguyen Van Tan Dat but still has the service of striker Trieu Hong Chinh, who played impressively, scored many beautiful goals and celebrated in the style of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Confident but not subjective, coach Tran Manh Hung said he did not underestimate any opponent, so he told his students to focus on playing to the best of their ability in all matches. "In football, nothing can be predicted. Student football is even more prone to surprises, so the players of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education team are not allowed to be subjective, negligent, or underestimate their opponents," said coach Tran Manh Hung.

The team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Sciences is assessed to have a good foundation and has participated in many competitions, so it promises to cause difficulties for the team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education.

In the remaining match, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team, participating in the tournament for the first time, is considered an unknown. The Vietnam Aviation Academy team, with experience in 3 TNSV seasons, will try to decode the opponent to gain an advantage before the big match with the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education team.

Today's match schedule (2.1)

+ Table E (HCMC area):

9:00 am: Vietnam Aviation Academy - University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City

15:00: Ho Chi Minh City University of Science - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education

17:30: University of Finance and Marketing - University of Physical Education and Sports, Ho Chi Minh City.

+ Table A (northern region):

14:00: Dai Nam University - East Asia University of Technology

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/duong-kim-vo-dich-khong-con-duong-lui-185250101225518838.htm