2026-2027 National Cup: Four V-League Teams Eliminated, Relegation Battle Takes Center Stage

The 2026-2027 National Cup qualifying round ended with one of the most unusual weekends in Vietnamese football. Five V-League clubs took part in the qualifying round; four were eliminated. Three of them lost at home, and only Bac Ninh beat Long An 3-2 away. The result was no longer a one-off shock but an emerging trend. For many V-League clubs, the National Cup is a secondary tournament. Apart from teams chasing titles or needing a trophy to ease pressure, most see the cup as a burden. Each round requires travel, accommodation and bonus money for players. Going deeper drains time and budget. While their main priority is survival in the V-League, the cup is often used to rotate the squad, test young players and accept the outcome. When that attitude grows, First Division clubs know how to take advantage. Thanh Hoa showed this story most clearly. They lost 0-2 to Becamex TP.HCM at home. The team entered the match with a limited squad, lacking money to keep key players or sign new ones. They only knew for sure they would still play in the 2026-2027 V-League right before the season started. That uncertainty made them passive in both spirit and squad strength. Becamex TP.HCM, although newly relegated, still had quality and played with higher determination. The 2-0 win was fully deserved. Thanh Hoa also face a serious legal and financial problem. FIFA has ordered the club to pay more than 305,000 USD, about 8 billion VND, to Rimario Gordon after the Jamaican striker filed a complaint. If the case is not resolved within 45 days from receiving the document dated September 16, 2026, Thanh Hoa will be banned from registering new players for three transfer windows. The issue is that this debt came from the previous sponsor period, while the club has now transferred to a new sponsor. Who takes responsibility? Eight billion VND may not be huge for wealthy clubs, but for Thanh Hoa it is a heavy blow to an already fragile financial plan. In that context, losing in the National Cup was almost inevitable. Thanh Hoa do not have the resources to fight on two fronts. They cannot risk everything for a tournament with unclear rewards. For them, every V-League game now is a matter of life and death. If the FIFA ban takes effect, they will struggle even more in the next transfer window. At that point, survival will become a distant goal. Hoang Anh Gia Lai had a different scenario but sent the same message. They lost 2-3 to Hung Yen at Quy Nhon, their temporary home because Pleiku is being renovated to fix poor drainage during heavy rain. Without familiar home fans, HAGL lacked emotion. They trailed 1-3 from the 77th minute before pulling one back from a penalty in added time, making it 2-3 in the 90+4 minute. That was their third consecutive defeat, following two straight losses at the start of the 2026-2027 V-League. Their squad is weaker than last season, and coach Le Quang Trai must handle a team without depth. In fact, being eliminated early from the National Cup can help HAGL focus more on the V-League. For a team used to relegation battles, an extra cup game only increases the risk of fatigue and injury. But the story does not stop there. If HAGL do not quickly find stability in their play, they will fall into the late-season relegation fight again. Depending on talented but inconsistent young players is a huge gamble. Hai Phong lost more quietly. At home, they conceded the only goal in the first half against Steel Can Tho. The team, which had just moved from Quang Ninh to Can Tho, played with great ambition after losing their opening First Division match. New signing Thaileon, who joined only a few days before the match, scored the winning goal. It was a typical picture of the difference between the two sides: one put everything into the match, the other treated it as a formality. Hong Linh Ha Tinh left the tournament in the most regrettable way. They held Phu Tho 0-0 after 90 minutes but lost 2-3 in a penalty shootout. There were no goals, no explosive moments, and in the end their poor spot kicks ended the tie. Even though Hai Phong and Hong Linh Ha Tinh both started the V-League with one win and one loss, their cup defeats showed they do not have enough depth to compete on two fronts. In the middle of the gloomy picture, Bac Ninh were a notable exception. They visited Long An, faced a First Division club trying to cause an upset, and still won 3-2. It was a match with many goals and drama, and above all, Bac Ninh knew how to protect their advantage. This win proved that a V-League club can go further if they set the right goal and prepare seriously. That is why the other four defeats are even more worth debating. The National Cup has long been a place for surprises. First Division clubs have nothing to lose, while V-League clubs are obsessed with avoiding relegation. The psychological gap sometimes exceeds the technical gap. When a First Division club plays with 100 percent effort and a V-League club plays with 60 percent energy and a rotated lineup, defeat is easy to explain. The lesson is not about strong teams being eliminated. The lesson lies in the financial structure and management of Vietnamese football. When clubs lack money, they cut every unnecessary cost. The National Cup becomes the first thing to be sacrificed. When teams survive season to season, they have no time for anything except staying up. And when First Division clubs understand that, they know how to press and win. So the final question remains: Is the National Cup attractive enough to become a real playground, or is it just a place where overstretched clubs test their reserve teams? Without restructuring, defeats like those of Thanh Hoa, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Hai Phong or Hong Linh Ha Tinh will happen again and again. Vietnamese football does not lack dramatic matches, but if clubs do not treat the cup as a real goal, every surprise is just a result of strategic choice, not magic.