Round 13 V-League: The champion's courage in the first leg

The team from Thanh Nam is playing quite convincingly in the V-League 2023 - 2024 with 9 wins, 1 draw and only 2 losses after 12 rounds. Nam Dinh is showing that they can become the new "king" of Vietnamese football this season. In the past time, despite having to face strong opponents trying to "block the way", coach Vu Hong Viet and his team still showed their mettle at the decisive moment.

The team from Thanh Nam currently has two of the best foreign players in the V-League, Rafaelson and Hendrio. These two foreign players have contributed 18/29 goals for the Thien Truong team. With the excellence of the "trio" Rafaelson - Hendrio - Van Toan, the Thien Truong team is capable of defeating any defense in the V-League at the moment.

Nam Dinh is leading the rankings with 28 points, 5 points more than the second-placed team, Binh Duong. Coach Vu Hong Viet and his team are sure to still lead the rankings when the first leg ends. The home match is an opportunity for Nam Dinh to accumulate more points, preparing for the return leg which promises many challenges.

In the last two matches, coach Vu Hong Viet and his team both had important victories against Hanoi FC and Song Lam Nghe An in the final minutes of extra time. The team from Thanh Nam is confident of extending its impressive streak. Because at home since the beginning of the season, Nam Dinh is unbeaten (5 wins, 1 draw).

However, Thanh Hoa is a strong team so they are ready to surprise their opponents, promising to create an exciting and dramatic match.

V-League fans hope Thanh Hoa can heat up the championship race. In the last 2 seasons, the Thanh Hoa team has shown an annoying playing style, always knowing how to trip up big teams.

In the history of confrontation between the two teams, Thanh Hoa is dominating with 4 wins and only 1 loss in the last 7 meetings with Nam Dinh. This will be the support to help coach Velizar Popov's team aim for points.

The recent form of the two teams is quite different. While Nam Dinh won 5 out of the last 6 rounds, Thanh Hoa lost 3 matches. One of the reasons for the decline of the Thanh team is the absence of the number 1 striker Rimario. Without this striker, Thanh Hoa plays deadlocked in attack.

In the last two rounds, Thanh Hoa lost all their strength in the race for the top spot. They have now dropped to 4th place on the rankings. The Thanh team, in the context of being 7 points behind their opponents on the rankings, also understands that this match has a lot of value for them. Coach Popov's team must win to avoid losing strength in the race for the championship.

This round, Rimario's return will help Thanh Hoa's attacking power return, while the home team Nam Dinh's defense will be without central defender Lucas due to suspension.

After round 13, V-League will take a break until the end of March to make room for the Vietnamese team to focus on preparing for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. V-League is expected to return with round 14 on March 30.

On March 12, coach Philippe Troussier will gather the national team to prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with two matches against Indonesia on March 21 and 26.

V-League 2023 - 2024 round 13 schedule
March 8
17:00: Hong Linh Ha Tinh - Hai Phong
18:00: Nam Dinh Green Steel - Dong A Thanh Hoa
19:15: Hanoi FC - Quang Nam