The result of this crucial match could decide the chances of reaching the knockout stages of the tournament.
The reigning V-League champions are in a good position to secure one of the two spots in Group F to enter the knockout round of the AFC Champions League Two 2025-2026. After four matches, Nam Dinh FC is temporarily ranked second with six points. Previously, Gamba Osaka FC (Japan) officially won the ticket to continue with a series of four consecutive wins, while Eastern AA FC (Hong Kong - China) has almost no chance of advancing further into the tournament as they are at the bottom of Group F with four consecutive defeats.
Nam Dinh Club will continue in AFC Champions League Two if they do not lose in the 5th match of Group F (Photo: LAM THOA)
The remaining spot in the knockout round of this group is a "two-horse" race between Nam Dinh and Ratchaburi (Thailand). In the first leg, the Nam Dinh team won convincingly 3-1 against the Thai representative, creating a big advantage before the rematch between the two teams at 5:00 p.m. on November 27. If they continue to win against Ratchaburi in the fifth match, Nam Dinh Club will automatically qualify for the knockout round of AFC Champions League Two this season.
Competing in the land of the Golden Pagoda is always a difficult challenge for Vietnamese teams. The task of beating the home team Ratchaburi is not easy, but the goal of winning 1 point is completely within the ability of coach Mauro Jeronimo's team. Nam Dinh and Ratchaburi have the same score after 4 matches, but coach Jeronimo and his team are temporarily ranked above their opponents thanks to a better head-to-head record. Nam Dinh's high-class foreign players are currently in good form and the performance of the team at Thien Truong Stadium has also gradually improved after changing the head coach's seat.
Meanwhile, Ratchaburi's performance has been on the rise recently. The team in the top 3 of the Thai-League has shown impressive attacking power when scoring 12 goals against Eastern AA in 2 big wins against this opponent. If they share points with Ratchaburi in the 5th round of Group F, Nam Dinh will still occupy the second position and continue to have the right to decide when the last round only has to face Eastern AA at home at Thien Truong Stadium.
In Group E, the race for 2 places in the AFC Champions League Two knockout round is quite intense as the points gap between the 4 teams is not large. The defeat against Macarthur FC (Australia) in the 4th match made Hanoi Police lose the top spot, temporarily ranked second with 5 points.
However, the results of the 2 matches of the 5th round of Group E can determine which teams will advance. Specifically, if Macarthur defeats Tai Po (Hong Kong - China), and at the same time Hanoi Police win all 3 points against Beijing Guoan (China) at Hang Day Stadium, the two winning teams will create a gap of at least 3 points compared to the 3rd place team of Group E. At that time, Macarthur will soon enter the knockout round as one of the two teams at the top of the group, while Coach Poking's team will advance thanks to a better head-to-head record with Beijing Guoan.
Beijing Guoan held Hanoi Police to a draw in the first leg thanks to a mistake by goalkeeper Nguyen Filip. Home field advantage and a strong squad will be the support for Quang Hai and his teammates to complete the task of winning the rematch against the Chinese team.
At present, main striker Nguyen Xuan Son has recovered and returned to competition, but the naturalized striker of Brazilian origin was not registered in the group stage of AFC Champions League Two.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/nam-dinh-rong-cua-o-afc-champions-league-two-19625112621423807.htm
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