Round 25 of LPBank V.League 1–2025/26: CAHN lift championship trophy as relegation battle remains undecided

The highlight of the round was the match at Hang Day Stadium, where Cong An Ha Noi FC hosted Becamex TP.HCM on the day they were officially crowned champions of the V.League 2025/26 season.

Attending the match and presenting medals and the championship trophy to the police-backed club were members of the Party Central Committee, including Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh; Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Dai Thang; Senior Lieutenant General Le Quoc Hung – Deputy Minister of Public Security; and Lieutenant General Dang Hong Duc – Deputy Minister of Public Security. Also in attendance were Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong and Deputy Minister of Ethnic and Religious Affairs Nguyen Hai Trung.

Representing the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and VPF Company were Tran Quoc Tuan – AFC Executive Committee member and VFF President; Tran Anh Tu – VFF Vice President and Chairman of the VPF Board of Directors; and Nguyen Minh Ngoc – General Director of VPF Company.

Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh presented the championship trophy to team captain Quang Hai.

VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan attended the match and presented gold medals to members of the champion team, CAHN.

Amid the vibrant atmosphere at Hang Day Stadium, coach Mano Polking and his players secured a 2-1 victory over Becamex TP.HCM thanks to goals from Alan Grafite and Leo Artur.

The result lifted CAHN to 64 points, equalling the V.League single-season points record previously set by Hanoi FC in 2018. With one match still remaining, the police-backed club now has the opportunity to establish a new league record should they achieve another positive result in the final round.

Following the match, CAHN officially lifted the V.League 2025/26 championship trophy amid jubilant celebrations from a large crowd of supporters.

At the lower end of the table, Round 25 confirmed two more teams that have officially secured their V.League status. At Pleiku Stadium, Hoang Anh Gia Lai produced an impressive comeback to defeat Hanoi FC 3-1. The valuable three points lifted the Mountain City side to 10th place with 26 points, guaranteeing their place in the 2026/27 V.League season.

Meanwhile, despite suffering a 0-2 home defeat to Ninh Binh FC, Dong A Thanh Hoa also officially secured survival with one round to spare. The inability of their direct rivals to gain ground allowed the Thanh Hoa side to maintain a safe gap above the relegation zone and achieve their objective of remaining in Vietnam’s top division.

However, the relegation battle remains unresolved after Round 25. Becamex TP.HCM, SHB Da Nang and PVF-CAND are all level on 21 points, setting the stage for a highly dramatic final round. Under the competition regulations, the bottom-placed team will be relegated directly, while the team finishing 13th will enter a play-off against Bac Ninh FC, runners-up of the National First Division, for a place in next season’s V.League.

At the top end of the standings, Ninh Binh FC continued to demonstrate strong progress. Their 2-0 victory away to Dong A Thanh Hoa not only marked a successful debut for head coach Chu Dinh Nghiem but also lifted the former capital side to third place, overtaking Hanoi FC before the season concludes.

With the championship already secured by CAHN, attention in the final round of V.League 2025/26 will focus on the relegation battle involving Becamex TP.HCM, SHB Da Nang and PVF-CAND, as well as the race for final positions among the league’s leading teams to bring an emotional season to a close.