National Cup: Becamex TP.HCM stun Thanh Hóa away from home

There are matches where the scoreline does not reflect the true story on the pitch, but there are also matches where the scoreline reflects all too clearly the harsh reality of a team in decline. This morning in Thanh Hóa, Becamex TP.HCM – a team recently relegated and currently playing in the First Division – wrote a real-life fairy tale by defeating the home side Thanh Hóa 2-0 in the Round of 16 of the National Cup. From the very first minutes, the script was clearly drawn. The visitors Becamex deliberately chose a deep defensive style, ceding possession to their opponents and accepting to abandon the midfield. They stood firm in front of their own penalty area, turning the 16m50 zone into a fortress that Thanh Hóa, no matter how much they held the ball, could not penetrate. This is the classic problem any team faces when encountering a weaker but well-organized opponent: how to break down a massed defense? Thanh Hóa's answer was... helplessness. They had more possession, more attacks, but lacked the necessary sharpness in decisive moments. Then, exactly according to plan, Becamex struck from set pieces. In the 34th minute, from a corner with a trajectory curving outward – a meticulously rehearsed move – captain Võ Hoàng Minh Khoa delivered a cross for foreign striker Daniel dos Anjos to head into the net. A goal born from a perfect plan, showing that Becamex's coaching staff had studied their opponents very carefully. After conceding, Thanh Hóa were forced to push their formation higher in search of an equalizer. But that very move created vast spaces behind their defensive line – a gift Becamex eagerly accepted. They played more and more according to their game plan, and in the 83rd minute, everything was sealed. A one-two combination, a lofted through ball that completely bypassed Thanh Hóa's pushed-up defense, and striker Nguyễn Trần Việt Cường – a current Vietnam national team forward – raced through to finish coolly, making it 2-0 for the visitors. This victory is not just an upset for this single match. It exposes a deeply human reality of Vietnamese football: the stratification between division and actual strength is becoming increasingly fragile. Becamex TP.HCM, despite being relegated to the First Division after finishing bottom of the table last season, still possesses a heavily invested squad with quality foreign players and domestic players of national team caliber. They do not look like a First Division team; they look like a V.League 1 team temporarily exiled to a lower division to rediscover themselves. For Thanh Hóa, this defeat is a wake-up call. The team from Thanh Hóa has just emerged from a financial crisis. They are fighting to stay in V.League 1, and an early exit from the National Cup, from a positive perspective, could help them focus all their resources on the difficult relegation battle ahead. But it also shows a reality: a club in crisis, no matter the division, can be subdued by a more organized opponent with a clearer plan. This victory is an invaluable morale boost for coach Gerard Albadalejo's team. It not only secures their place in the quarter-finals but also reinforces their belief in the project they are pursuing: a project to bring the club back to its rightful place in the top flight. For a team with promotion ambitions, defeating a V.League 1 side away from home is the clearest proof of their true strength. The question now is not whether Becamex deserved this victory – the answer is yes, absolutely. The bigger question is: is this a signal of the strong rise of a new force, or just a bright moment in a journey still full of obstacles? And for Thanh Hóa, is an early cup exit truly a good thing, or is it merely a veil covering deeper problems the club is facing? Football always has a way of answering through the next matches.