The spirit of the defending champion team

The defending champion squeezed through the narrow door to continue.

After a 0-2 defeat to the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport in the opening match of Group 1, coach Pham Thai Vinh of the defending champion - Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports said that his team's chances of advancing were very narrow. However, a surprise happened when the Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport lost to the Saigon Polytechnic College, rekindling hope for the defending champion.

Bản lĩnh đội đương kim vô địch- Ảnh 1. — The defending champion team, Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports *(left),* won a ticket to the dramatic play-off round.

In the final match yesterday (7.1) against Saigon Polytechnic College, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports had to win by 2 goals or more to qualify for the next round, while the opponent only needed to draw or lose by a narrow margin to achieve the goal of finishing first in the group. The defending champion's mettle was demonstrated when they dominated the game and had a dream start when they took a 2-goal lead in just the first 16 minutes. The Saigon Polytechnic College team rose strongly, with many moments of dominating play, but could not score and even conceded another goal in the second half.

Winning 3-0 against Saigon Polytechnic College helped Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports have the same 6 points as Saigon Polytechnic College and Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, but won the top spot in this group and a ticket to the play-off round. The reason is that the defending champion has a better goal difference than the 2 opponents (+1 compared to 0 of Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport and -1 of Saigon Polytechnic College).

Sharing after the spectacular comeback to get a ticket to the play-off round, coach Pham Thai Vinh of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports said: "Our team only has one way left to win, and we have to win by 2 goals, so we are very determined. This also creates pressure for the players, but they played well, showed their bravery, thereby completing the goal of winning a ticket to the play-off round. The goal of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Physical Education and Sports team is to play well in the play-off round to win the right to participate in the final round."

IMPRESSIONS OF THE TEAM OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

Also yesterday, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team continued to show impressive performance with a 4-1 victory over the University of Natural Sciences (VNU-HCM). Although participating in the tournament for the first time, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team showed its potential and readiness to compete with strong opponents.

After 2 matches, the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics team has the same 6 points as the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education team. The two teams will face each other in the final match to determine the first and second place in Group 7 and the ticket to the play-off round. This is also a group where if the two teams draw in the final match, the second-placed team with 7 points will have a good chance to win a ticket to the play-off round for the second-placed team with the best record.

Today's match schedule (January 8):

Table E (HCMC area):

9:00 am: Hung Vuong University, Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City University of Law

15:00: Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance - Van Hien University

17:30: Gia Dinh University - Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry

Group D (Southeast region):

14:00: Lilama 2 International College of Technology - Dong Nai University of Technology

16:00: Sonadezi College of Technology and Management - Ba Ria-Vung Tau University

Group B (Central Coast region):

9:00 am: University of Science (Hue University) - University of Economics (Hue University)

13:30: Danang University of Physical Education and Sports - University of Law (Hue University)

15:30: FPT Polytechnic University - Hue University