Although there is almost no hope of passing the group stage of the Asian Cup, Nam Dinh Club still plays with determination and dedication.
The team from Thanh Nam proactively raised their attack formation from the first minutes, with the goal of scoring many goals, while waiting for the match at the same time as direct competitor Ratchaburi will lose heavily to Gamba Osaka.
In the first half, Nam Dinh scored 6 goals against Eastern, with goals from Caio Cesar, Kevin Pham Ba, Ly Cong Hoang Anh, Romulo da Silva (double) and Brenner Marlos. In particular, Pham Ba's goal in the 4th minute was a super goal from outside the penalty area.
Entering the second half, Nam Dinh continued to dominate the game in one go and scored 3 more goals, including a double from Brenner and an own goal from Eastern SC player.
This 9-0 victory was still not enough for Nam Dinh to qualify for the next round, because in the match at the same time, Gamba Osaka only beat Ratchaburi 2-0. After 6 matches, Nam Dinh has 9 points, equal to Ratchaburi and balanced in head-to-head record, but must be ranked below due to loss in secondary index - specifically the number of goals scored (14 compared to 15).
After finishing the AFC Champions League Two 2025-2026 in third place in Group F, Nam Dinh bitterly stopped at the continental cup. Unfortunate mistakes by goalkeepers and defenders in the loss to direct opponent Ratchaburi in the fifth match caused the team from Thanh Nam to lose the right to decide and pay the price with a ticket to the next round.
Another representative of Vietnam, Hanoi Police, lost 0-1 to Tai Po. However, this team still qualified for the next round as the second place in Group E.
