Before the tournament, head coach of Ho Chi Minh City University of Sports and Education Pham Thai Vinh once commented: “The THACO Cup 2025 football tournament will be very unpredictable, because the teams all have very careful investment and preparation. Therefore, any surprise can happen.”
This happened right in the opening match of the defending champion team, when they faced their charming opponent Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport (GTVT) yesterday afternoon (December 28). In the match considered the “early final” of group 1, Group E – Ho Chi Minh City regional qualifying round, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Sports and Education team, although rated much higher, unexpectedly lost with a score of 0-2 against Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport team.
Defending champion team of Ho Chi Minh City University of Sports and Education (left) unexpectedly lost in the opening match
The Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports team participating in the 2025 season is missing key striker Nguyen Minh Nhat. This striker is one of the best faces in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and has won the top scorer title twice.
On the contrary, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport team, after sadly missing out on a ticket to play the play-offs in the 2024 qualifying round, has made great determination and has been diligently preparing for nearly a year now. The effort paid off when the team showed great progress and returned impressively with a victory over the defending champions in the first match.
The two teams struggled and drew 0-0 after the first half. In the second half, in just two sharp counterattack situations, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport team scored two goals, respectively by Truong Ho. Ngoc Quy (penalty) and Nguyen Anh Thu scored. With this result, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport team holds a great advantage in the race to win tickets to the next round.
After the victory, coach Ho Van Lung happily said: “We are very happy with the victory on the opening day against a strong opponent and directly competing for tickets to the next round. But the qualifying round still has 2 more matches, the University of Transport team Ho Chi Minh City needs to continue trying, viewing each match as a final, and must win to be sure to continue.”
Coach Pham Thai Vinh expressed: “The situation is extremely difficult. We lost the opening match to a direct competitor and lost the right to self-determination. Now, we only hope for the results of the remaining matches in There were surprises in the group, for example, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport team lost the next match and we had to win the remaining matches to have a chance.”
The remaining two matches of yesterday’s match also took place attractively. In Group A, the Saigon Polytechnic College team made an excellent comeback to defeat the University of Finance and Marketing team with a score of 2-1. Meanwhile, the final match of the day in Group B between the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance team and the Ho Chi Minh City Hung Vuong University team witnessed a dramatic chase. The result was that the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance team won the final 4-2.
