Nam Dinh beat HAGL 4-0 in round 1 of V-League 2026-2027
Quick Look
- Nam Dinh defeated HAGL 4-0 in the opening round of V-League 2026-2027 thanks to two goals and one assist from Ezequiel Santos, along with goals from Romulo da Silva and Xuan Son.
- HAGL, with a young squad and an average age of 24.3, could not resist the power of the host.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
HAGL just survived relegation last season and only changed foreign players to train in Thailand, while Nam Dinh has strengthened its force by buying Ezequiel Santos and retaining excellent players from previous seasons.
Ninh Binh Duc's team lost heavily 0-4 as a guest against Nam Dinh in round 1 of V-League 2026-2027, on the afternoon of September 6.
Having struggled to stay in relegation last season, HAGL has shown no signs of strengthening its forces for this season. The mountain town football team only replaced foreign players and went to Thailand to train for the new season. The force still relies on young players, the most prominent of which is goalkeeper Tran Trung Kien. Two other talents are midfielder Dinh Quang Kiet and striker Tran Gia Bao, who are playing for U20 Vietnam.
With an average age of only 24.3, many inexperienced players, sporadic and deadlocked play, HAGL had no chance in the first half as a guest at Thien Truong. On the contrary, the home team completely dominated the match, with superior strength.
In addition to the outstanding personnel in recent seasons, Nam Dinh also strengthened striker born in 1998 Ezequiel Santos. Only 1.67 m tall, the Brazilian player is quite versatile, having played for many years in his homeland for clubs such as Botafogo, Cruzeiro and Sport Recife. In addition, Ezequiel also played for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in Japan's J-League 1.
In the 37th minute, Ezequiel himself controlled a beat and then finished dangerously to open the score for Nam Dinh, after catching a convenient pass from overseas Vietnamese player Thai Crawford. In the 44th minute, from the right wing attack, Manh Quynh passed into the penalty area for Ezequiel to kick into the far corner to increase the score 2-0.
Two quick goals caused the away team to lose the match. At minute 45+2, Ezequiel pressed down on the HAGL defenders to create an assist for Romulo da Silva to comfortably finish into the top corner, causing the away team's net to bounce up for the third time.
After a disastrous first half, HAGL showed signs of revival in the second half. They raised their attacking formation high to find an equalizer. However, the opportunities were all missed or failed to beat the home goal post.
At minute 90+3, Xuan Son - who entered the field in the 67th minute - ended the home team's jubilant opening day by scoring a dangerous header into HAGL's net, sealing a 4-0 victory. This result puts Nam Dinh at the top of the table after the opening round of V-League 2026-2027.
Round 2, HAGL returns home to host Da Nang, while Nam Dinh is a guest in Hai Phong.
Duc Dong
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Nam Dinh will continue to maintain good form and compete for top position in the table in the early part of the season.
Likely · Within weeks
HAGL will need time to adapt to the young squad and may have to change tactics to avoid similar failures.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Does HAGL have a plan to add more players during this transfer period?
- Can Ezequiel Santos maintain his high form throughout this season?
