According to the exact figures, My Dinh Stadium has a capacity of 40,192 seats, but the last time the audience came to watch live... almost full stands was on January 13, 2023, with 38,539 people in the first leg of the AFF Cup final. That was the last match of coach Park Hang-seo at My Dinh Stadium, also the second to last match in the role of captain of the Vietnam National Team (the second leg final in Thailand was the last match).
Since then, My Dinh Stadium has never once revived the feeling of a festival atmosphere. Perhaps it is also unfortunate, because after Mr. Philippe Troussier succeeded Park Hang-seo, the French coach's first matches were at Lach Tray (Hai Phong) and Thien Truong (Nam Dinh). Until the first time leading the Vietnamese team at My Dinh Stadium - against the Iraqi team in November 2023, the audience at My Dinh Stadium only filled half of the stands (20,568), because the trust in Mr. Troussier had wavered.
After a journey, My Dinh Stadium was the place to say goodbye to Mr. Troussier, with 27,823 people coming to the stadium, most of whom expressed anger and indignation when witnessing the Vietnam team lose 0-3 to the Indonesia team.
In June 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik debuted the Vietnam National Team at My Dinh Stadium with a 3-2 victory over the Philippines, but the number of spectators attending the stadium was only about 1/4 of the capacity (11,568). It is understandable, because the trust placed in the team has not been regained.
The first time, on September 5, in the friendly match against the Russian team at the LPBank Cup 2024, only a few thousand people came to the stadium, including many Russian fans. Witnessing that scene, the players must have felt a little sad, because the cheers from the stands are an important source of motivation for the players on the field. Striker Pham Tuan Hai has called on fans to come to the stadium for the match against the Thai team tonight so that the players can "give their all".
Hopefully, but it’s unlikely that the stadium will be full. Even though the other team is Thailand, a Southeast Asian rival, many people are dealing with the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi rather than going to the stadium to watch football…
