Four V-League Clubs Eliminated from National Cup: When Financial Worries Decide Matches

Last weekend, Thanh Hoa's pitch became the site of a shock named Becamex TP.HCM. The newly relegated club played as if they were the home side, pressing high, passing quickly, and finishing with a 0-2 victory. On the stands, home fans stood in silence. I told you so: the National Cup is where the truth speaks. And that weekend, the truth was unforgiving for Vietnamese football. This is the story of four V-League representatives eliminated from the 2026-2027 National Cup qualifying round, three of them falling at home. Only Bac Ninh won 3-2 away to Long An to preserve some dignity for the top flight. Thanh Hoa fell to Becamex TP.HCM. Hoang Anh Gia Lai lost 2-3 to Hung Yen at Quy Nhon, where they were temporarily based because the Pleiku pitch was undergoing drainage improvements. Hai Phong lost 0-1 to Thep Can Tho at Lach Tray Stadium. Hong Linh Ha Tinh drew 0-0 with Phu Tho but lost on penalties. In many years of following National Cup qualifiers, I have noticed that shocks of this kind are never an isolated event. Every season, a lower-division side beats a V-League club. But rarely have the numbers been this large in a single round. Four defeats for V-League clubs in five matches involving them is an abnormal figure even in the tournament's history. That forces me to reconsider what I call the real value of a club: not the value on a transfer sheet, but the ability to survive when no one is watching. Three home defeats cannot be explained by travel or weather. They expose a football ecosystem growing thinner. Thanh Hoa, a club that only knew it still existed just before the 2026-2027 V-League season, is carrying a 305,000 USD debt to Rimario Gordon after his complaint to FIFA. On September 16, the club received a document demanding payment within 45 days. If unpaid, they will be banned from registering new players for three transfer windows. That debt, equivalent to about 8 billion VND, is an invisible weight pressing down on every training session for a club that has just changed sponsors. Hoang Anh Gia Lai is no better. They lost two consecutive V-League matches to start the season, have a thinner squad than last year, and were forced to leave Pleiku. The empty stadium of 2026 taught me that football is only an echo of itself; on a ground without familiar fans, that echo shatters. Hung Yen led 3-1 from the 77th minute, and HAGL could only pull one back from a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time. That penalty goal was just a consolation. It did not change the outcome, but it showed that the mountain-town club still had a little pride in its helplessness. Hai Phong's pain was even sharper. Their opponent, Thep Can Tho, had just moved "residence" from Quang Ninh to the Western capital, and had lost their opening game in the First Division. Yet a striker who joined the team just a few days earlier, Thaileon, scored the only goal in the first half. The match at Lach Tray was played under light rain. The stadium is famous for its intimidating crowd, but the away side in white were unfazed. Thaileon received a pass from midfield, turned, and finished inside the box. That was all it took to end the contest. Hong Linh Ha Tinh did not concede, but they failed to score against Phu Tho. After a dull 90 minutes, they fell in the penalty shootout. This kind of defeat reflects a lack of ideas in attack, not a shortage of luck. The shootout was tense. Ha Tinh players approached the spot with stiff faces, while the home team's bench shouted encouragement. The 2-3 result for Phu Tho was not simply a gamble; it was the product of a difference in spirit. These matches bring me back to crying numbers. Before 2026, I watched football with my eyes; after 2026, I watch with numbers that know how to cry. Four of five V-League clubs lost in the same round, a win rate of 20 percent. Three of the four defeats came at home. The home side had fans, a familiar pitch, and scheduling advantages, yet still lost. That is not purely a technical issue; it is about squad weakness and the psychology of a club sinking under financial anxiety. From my experience watching matches, teams fighting relegation often follow a recognizable pattern of failure. They start well enough for the first twenty minutes, then lose intensity exactly when the opponent accelerates. Thanh Hoa could not keep up with Becamex TP.HCM. HAGL could not handle Hung Yen's pressure. Hai Phong conceded in the first half and then failed to create a single sharp chance to equalize. Ha Tinh played as if they had already accepted taking the match to penalties, and penalties are a lottery. But do not rush to condemn the First Division clubs. They did not win through luck. Becamex TP.HCM, despite relegation, still have a quality core and the desire to return. Thep Can Tho have the belief of a reborn club, with a new signing who scored immediately. Hung Yen showed relentless determination. Meanwhile, many V-League teams showed that the gap between the two divisions is no longer a chasm. It is thin enough for a single knockout match to rewrite everything. The difference comes from wage budgets, the ability to keep players, sponsor stability, and ultimately the belief the players have in themselves. I could be wrong. Perhaps this is a deliberate sacrifice, because clubs like HAGL or Hai Phong view the V-League as far more important than an expensive cup. Coach Le Quang Trai might be winning a bigger battle even though his team left Quy Nhon in defeat. If so, the criticism directed at them is unfair. But even then, failing to beat a First Division team at home is still a warning sign. A healthy club can rotate, give young players chances, and still advance. A club with no depth has no choice but to choose between living and dying. The National Cup should therefore not be treated as a secondary arena. It is where I became enlightened about the true health of football. When one lower-division club eliminates four V-League representatives, the issue is not surprise. The issue is a system running on two different standards: one side desperate for promotion, the other preoccupied with survival and cramped budgets. Bac Ninh won away to Long An, but they too went through a difficult match and fell behind. They did not play beautifully. They played with a plan, absorbed pressure, and seized the moment. What Bac Ninh had, the losing clubs all lacked: order on an imperfect day. Now the qualifying round is over. But the four shocks of this weekend will echo. Thanh Hoa must resolve the 305,000 USD debt within 45 days or face a transfer ban. For a club that has already lost a host of key players because it could not afford to keep them, that ban would be a suspended sentence for the season. HAGL will continue their slide and channel all their energy into the V-League, where the relegation battle has already begun. Hai Phong and Ha Tinh will likely choose the pragmatic path. Sichuan lost six goals, and I won a lesson no final could teach me. This weekend, four Vietnamese clubs lost, and the fans won another lesson about financial truth. The open question is whether Thanh Hoa's 45 days will be enough to pay the debt, or whether our football will witness another club cracking from within. I cannot answer that yet. I only know that when the answer comes, I will say something familiar once more: I told you so.