Foreign strikers dominate V-League

Nguyen Quang Hai is the only domestic player in the top 9 scorers so far, with 2 goals.

Domestic troops are at a disadvantage.

Recruiting high-class, qualified foreign players not only helps the team achieve favorable results but also increases the professional quality of the V-League playground.

After 4 rounds, foreign strikers are leading the list of "Top scorers". However, the high performance of foreign players is also one of the reasons that hinder the development of young talents, causing many Vietnamese players to lose the opportunity to compete and compete in the V-League arena.

After 4 matches, Hanoi Police Club has become the team with the most strikers with the highest scoring efficiency. Alan Grafite, Leo Artur and Nguyen Quang Hai contributed 10 goals for the police team. In which, striker Alan temporarily leads the list of "Top scorers" of V-League with 5 goals, 2 more than his teammate Artur.

Chân sút nước ngoài lấn lướt tại V-League- Ảnh 1. — Nguyen Quang Hai (center) is the only domestic player in the top 9 scorers in V-League 2025 - 2026, so far. (Photo: QUOC AN)

Last season, the 27-year-old Brazilian striker won the V-League's "Top Scorer" title with 14 goals. Meanwhile, Quang Hai was among the top assist creators, having made 8 passes to help his teammates score.

Although it was not so smooth when entering the international arena, Hanoi Police Club is maintaining a stable performance in the domestic arena. Coach Polking's team defeated Nam Dinh Club to win the National Super Cup and is unbeaten with a series of 4 matches, including 3 wins in the V-League this season.

Ninh Binh FC also owns the top "goal scorer" in V-League. Striker Gustavo Henrique has scored 4 goals in just 3 matches and is the top choice in the attack of the ancient capital Hoa Lu team. Before joining Ninh Binh FC, this 29-year-old Brazilian striker also made an impression when playing for the Hanoi Police team in the 2023 season.

Having just returned to V-League, Ninh Binh Club quickly caused a shock when it spent a lot of money to bring in many excellent foreign players, renewing the coaching staff with Spanish experts. Ninh Binh Club is also the only team to win all 4 matches in the early stages of the 2025-2026 season, including 3 V-League matches and the National Cup qualifiers.

Unlocking potential

The Viettel The Cong Club is considered by experts to be a candidate for the domestic championship this season. The army team has a 4-match unbeaten streak, including 2 wins, firmly in the top 3 of the V-League 2025-2026 rankings after 4 rounds. In addition, Coach Popov's army also surprised Vietnamese fans when they quickly eliminated Hanoi Club from the 2025-2026 National Cup.

Up to now, Viettel The Cong Club is the most effective team in purchasing new players. Although it is the first time using overseas Vietnamese players, the coaching staff knows how to exploit their potential, turning central defender Kyle Colonna, Damian Vu Thanh An... into pillars in the squad. In addition, young talents such as goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet and midfielder Dinh Xuan Tien also showed quick integration, creating a position in the new team.

In the early stages of the 2025-2026 season, the schedule forced The Cong Viettel Club to continuously face many strong opponents, but the team always achieved positive results. In addition to the convincing victory over Hanoi Club in the National Cup, Mr. Popov and his team also drew with the Hanoi Police team and won overwhelmingly when hosting Ho Chi Minh City Police Club and Becamex Ho Chi Minh City in the V-League.

The reasonable rotation of the squad not only helps The Cong Viettel Club maintain its form and smoothly operate the tactics but also limits injuries to the players. The Cong Viettel is also the team that has conceded the fewest goals with 2 goals after 4 rounds. The ability to judge situations, enter and exit appropriately, and quick ball-saving reflexes of goalkeeper Nguyen Van Viet has helped the home team keep 2 clean sheets.

Hanoi FC - the once-powerful force in Vietnamese football - continues to disappoint with a series of 5 winless matches. In 3 capital derby matches this season, the purple team lost to Hanoi Police FC (round 3 V-League), drew with The Cong Viettel (round 4 V-League) and lost to The Cong Viettel in the National Cup qualifying round.

Van Quyet and his teammates have entered the bottom 4 teams with only 2 points after 4 matches in V-League 2025-2026.