Vietnam team lost heavily to the reigning V.League champion

On the afternoon of September 4, the Vietnamese team had a friendly match with the Nam Dinh Blue Steel Club - the current V.League champion. This was the first practice match in the September 2025 training session, aiming to review, test and evaluate the team's strength in preparation for the next match in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup taking place in October.

Vietnam team (blue shirt) lost to Nam Dinh in a friendly match. Photo: Nam Dinh Club

In this match, head coach Dinh Hong Vinh arranged many key players such as Duy Manh, Hoang Duc, Thanh Chung, Tien Anh, and at the same time gave the opportunity to young goalkeeper Van Viet to start.

However, Nam Dinh club took the field with a squad consisting of all 11 foreign players, including Romulo da Silva, Caio Cesar, Percy Tau and Kyle Hudlin, to prepare for 4 arenas in the season.

The team from Thanh Nam had the advantage thanks to their superior physique, technique and ability to compete. After many attacks, Romulo opened the score 1-0 in the first half.

Nam Dinh (white shirt) took the field with a lineup of all foreign players. Photo: Nam Dinh Club

In the second half, the Vietnamese team changed almost the entire lineup to test new elements, while Nam Dinh still kept foreign players on the field.

The difference in the match was clearly shown when Mahmoud Eid scored, and Kyle Hudlin scored twice, sealing a 4-0 victory for the V.League representative.

The Vietnamese team, with many new players participating for the first time, has not created the necessary cohesion. The players coordinated relatively well at some points, but lacked strength in the competition and were loose in defense. At the end of the match, the decline in physical strength made it even more difficult for the team to maintain pressure on the opponent.

Competing with Nam Dinh's quality foreign players is a valuable experience for the Vietnamese team. Photo: Nam Dinh Club

This result is not surprising because Nam Dinh Blue Steel has an outstanding foreign squad, aiming to compete for a high ranking in the AFC Champions League Two 2025-2026. However, for the Vietnamese team, this is an important and useful test, helping the coaching staff evaluate performance, adaptation as well as test the squad, serving the preparation for the final qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2027.

As planned, on September 7, the Vietnamese team will have another friendly match with the Hanoi Police Club, continuing the preparation process for tasks in 2025.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-thua-dam-duong-kim-vo-dich-v-league-715145.html