V-League is heating up with the race of the 'five... miserable generals': HAGL is at the bottom of the table but there is a glimmer of light

In addition to the championship race, V-League 2025 - 2026 is extremely attractive with the fierce competition between 5 names jostling at the bottom of the table, likened to 'five suffering generals'.

Vietnam U.23 player Thanh Nhan in PVF-CAND club shirt

Photo: Minh Tu

V-League heats up with relegation race

In the latest match of round 9 of LPBank V-League 2025, which just ended on the night of November 2, Thanh Hoa Club at home lost to The Cong Viettel with a score of 0-1. This result makes the Thanh team still in the top 5 worst teams in the tournament, having only 7 points after 9 matches.

After more than 1/3 of the way through this year's season, people have begun to see more clearly the process of grouping in which 5 clubs SLNA, Da Nang , Thanh Hoa, PVF-CAND and HAGL are jostling each other at the bottom of the table with only a meager 7 points.

This result is not too surprising, because all 5 of these names are teams whose strength is considered weak and lacking. In which HAGL and SLNA are the youngest and second youngest teams in the tournament with the average age of the whole team being 23.7 years old and 24 years old respectively.

Thai Son (yellow shirt) and Xuan Bac face off when Thanh Hoa Club meets PVF-CAND

Photo: Minh Tu

Except for PVF-CAND, which is considered to have strong financial potential but has not had the opportunity to spend due to the rush to be promoted, the remaining 4 names all have limited finances like "children from poor families", so most of them have to find ways to make ends meet with self-trained players.

Although the average age is higher (26.2), PVF-CAND has a very young squad that is playing in the top environment of V-League for the first time. Vietnam U.23 players such as Hieu Minh, Xuan Bac, Anh Quan, Bao Long... are talented but need time to mature, as well as wait for reinforcements in phase 2.

Da Nang FC has a very passionate boss Vu Nam Thang, who has strong faith in coach Le Duc Tuan, who helped them miraculously stay in the league last season. But they need to add more courage to strengthen their defense, which has conceded 14 goals, causing the team to score first many times but continuously drop points.

One thing is for sure, the rest of the relegation race will see a heated battle between these 5 struggling teams. Everyone will use all their abilities to overcome and trample on their opponents, every match is a final and every point is precious as gold.

Waiting for a breakthrough in the second leg

Minh Tam is shining in HAGL shirt

Photo: Minh Tran

Among the 5 teams in the danger zone, the prospects of PVF-CAND and Da Nang Club seem the brightest because their financial resources and the determination of the leadership give them the right to expect quality additions.

Coach Le Duc Tuan's priority will be a strong midfielder in the middle of the field, a goalkeeper to replace Bui Tien Dung who suffered a torn ligament and an experienced central defender.

Meanwhile, PVF-CAND will also need to add 1-2 more vertical positions to increase experience, providing more effective support for its young, potential players.

Among these, the biggest difficulty will lie with the three names Thanh Hoa, SLNA and HAGL - those with limited budgets and circumstances. They will almost certainly have to be satisfied with what they have and try to "make do" by relying on the spirit of solidarity to overcome difficulties.

U.23 Vietnam player Le Nguyen Hoang scores for SLNA

Photo: Minh Tu

It's a pity for SLNA as they have played better under coach Van Sy Son but lacked a bit of luck to get their first win with the new coach who was an important member of the Nghe An team when he was still playing football.

However, Coach Van Sy Son's experience of "cutting his coat according to his cloth" during his seasons leading Quang Nam Club promises to be very valuable for the young Nghe An team to gradually accumulate points in the remaining 2/3 of the journey of V-League 2025 - 2026.

Despite the difficult situation, HAGL still has positive signs to look forward to, when they have won 4 points against 2 former V-League champions, The Cong Viettel (won 2-1) and Nam Dinh (drawn 2-2), scoring 4 goals compared to only 1 goal in the previous 7 matches.

In particular, the brilliance of Minh Tam, Quang Kiet, Trung Kien and overseas Vietnamese player Ryan Ha brings confidence that the mountain town team will once again overcome difficulties, once again replacing the departing stars by creating new stars.

Watch LPBank V.League 1-2025/26 live & in full on FPT Play, at https://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/v-league-nong-ham-hap-voi-cuoc-dua-cua-ngu-kho-tuong-hagl-day-bang-nhung-le-loi-anh-sang-185251102202947263.htm