2026 National A1 Football Championship: The Cong and Cong an Ha Noi Stay Neck and Neck

2026 National A1 Football Championship: The Cong and Cong an Ha Noi Stay Neck and Neck Ha Noi, August 19, 2026 The eleventh round of the 2026 National A1 Football Championship closed at Hang Day Stadium in unfavourable weather. Heavy rain fell throughout the afternoon and left the pitch slippery, but the organisers kept the fixture list unchanged. In the early match, The Cong (the Army Club) hosted Cang Sai Gon. The first half was tight, with both sides contesting mainly the middle third. In the twenty-third minute, striker Nguyen The Anh collected a long ball on the right flank, controlled it cleanly and finished across goal to open the scoring for The Cong. After the break, Cang Sai Gon pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but The Cong defence, marshalled by centre-back Phan Van My, held firm. Goalkeeper Le Khac Chinh made three important saves and kept a clean sheet. The Cong won 1-0. In the late match the same day, Cong an Ha Noi met Song Lam Nghe Tinh. The capital side enjoyed more possession but struggled against a deep-lying defence. It was not until the sixty-eighth minute, from a corner kick, that Cong an Ha Noi broke the deadlock. The match ended 2-1 in favour of the home side. With these results, The Cong temporarily hold top spot with nineteen points from eleven matches, exactly one point ahead of Cong an Ha Noi. The narrow margin suggests the 2026 A1 national title will only be decided in the closing rounds. The Cong coaching staff said the team will stay faithful to its counter-attacking approach while improving the fitness of key players ahead of the coming fixtures. Cong an Ha Noi, for their part, have set the target of taking maximum points from the next two rounds to pile pressure on the leaders. Beyond football, the mass sports movement in 2026 continued across many localities, with table tennis, volleyball and athletics competitions for young people. These events help build the pool of athletes for the national teams in the years that follow. According to the schedule, the next round of the 2026 National A1 Football Championship is expected to take place on August 26, 2026 in Ha Noi and Hai Phong.