Gamba Osaka - Nam Dinh match schedule today: The away team enters a thrilling 'turn'

At a time when Nam Dinh FC needs a victory to come back stronger, coach Vu Hong Viet and his team have to face a very strong opponent, Gamba Osaka, the team that ranked 4th in J-League 1 last season. This match takes place at 5:00 p.m. on October 22, in the 3rd round of the group stage of the 2025-2026 Asian Cup C2.

How much is Nam Dinh worth compared to its competitors?

After 2 rounds, Nam Dinh FC is ranked second in Group F with 6 points. The Vietnamese representative has the same points as Gamba Osaka FC but is ranked behind due to an inferior goal difference (+4 compared to +5). Therefore, the direct confrontation in the land of the rising sun will determine the top spot in the group. In terms of expertise, the home team is rated higher, despite their poor form in the 2025 season (ranked 9th after 34 rounds).

According to Transfermarkt, the value of Gamba Osaka Club's squad is more than 18 million euros (more than 552 billion VND). This figure for Nam Dinh Club is more than 367 billion VND. Not to mention that the team from Thanh Nam currently does not have the strongest force because some excellent foreign players such as Caio Cesar, Njabulo Blom and Vietnamese-American player Kevin Pham Ba are injured.

When many foreign players are injured, Nam Dinh Club needs the brilliance of domestic players like Lam Ti Phong and Ly Cong Hoang Anh.

PHOTO: MINH TU

However, coach Vu Hong Viet appeared quite confident, aiming to cause a surprise right on the away field. The basis of his confidence comes from the fact that he and his colleagues have carefully studied Gamba Osaka Club to be able to come up with suitable tactics and approaches to the match.

More than ever, Nam Dinh FC needs a victory to make a strong comeback. In the last 5 matches, coach Vu Hong Viet and his team won 2 matches and lost 3 matches. In the 2 times they enjoyed complete joy, Nam Dinh FC only played well against Ratchaburi (Thailand), and played unconvincingly when facing Eastern (Hong Kong). In the V-League, the team from the South received a defeat with the same score of 0-2 when facing 2 championship candidates, Ninh Binh FC and Hanoi Police FC. When facing the unstable team, Becamex TP.HCM FC, they also lost 1-2. This disappointing series of matches caused Nam Dinh FC to fall to 10th place on the rankings.

If they do not return soon, the team from the South is at risk of slipping further. Although the next two opponents in the relegation group are Da Nang Club and HAGL, Nguyen Manh and his teammates cannot be complacent. In a corner, weak teams often cause surprises. Next, Nam Dinh Club will play Gamba Osaka again and then welcome Hanoi Club. In the next 20 days, Nam Dinh Club will have to play 5 matches, all of which are difficult matches. In addition, the physical condition of Nam Dinh Club players is affected due to having to move constantly, which can easily lead to injury. Coach Vu Hong Viet needs to carefully calculate the rotation of the squad to ensure the expertise as well as the health of his students. This is not a simple problem.

Both objective factors (tough opponents, tight schedule) and subjective factors (many key players injured, fluctuating performance) are not in favor of coach Vu Hong Viet and his team. Nam Dinh FC is therefore facing the risk of a long slide that people still call the "domino effect". However, in challenges there is always opportunity. If they can achieve a positive result against a strong opponent like Gamba Osaka FC, Nam Dinh will have greater motivation to come back strongly.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-gamba-osaka-nam-dinh-hom-nay-doi-khach-buoc-vao-khuc-cua-gay-can-185251021171200877.htm