TP Đồng Nai were beaten 4-0 by Nam Định at Bình Phước Stadium at 18:00 on 24 October 2026 in round 5 of LPBank V.League 1 2026/27. All four goals came after half-time, in a game the newly promoted hosts played without their captain, striker Nguyễn Công Phượng. Afterwards coach Nguyễn Việt Thắng said he wanted to talk to the club's leadership about stepping down. According to Thanh Niên, the club had made no announcement about his position by the time the paper reported it on the evening of 24 October.
Holding firm, then falling apart
Nam Định pushed up from the start and had the ball in the net in the 10th minute through Mạnh Quỳnh, but the goal was ruled out for offside, Bongdaplus reported. Đồng Nai goalkeeper Văn Phong made a string of saves from Mạnh Quỳnh and Tuấn Hải, and Thanh Niên praised the hosts for a resilient first half built on a deep, layered defence organised by captain Hữu Tuấn. It was 0-0 at the break.
The game turned two minutes after the restart. In the 47th minute, Vietnamese-heritage midfielder Thái Crawford threaded a pass through for Mạnh Quỳnh, who ran clear and finished across goal. Thắng immediately sent on Xuân Trường, Văn Đức and Hải Quân to chase the game, Thanh Niên wrote, but Đồng Nai quickly conceded twice more. Ngọc Sơn dribbled in from the right and found the far corner (in the 56th minute according to Bongdaplus, SGGP and Dân trí; the 55th according to Thanh Niên), and Lâm Ti Phông made it 3-0 in the 60th.
The hosts' best moment came in the 66th minute, when Hải Quân's powerful shot beat goalkeeper Nguyên Mạnh but bounced back off the crossbar, Thanh Niên noted. Nam Định also had another goal disallowed: Dân trí described a Văn Vĩ volley from a corner being cancelled after a VAR review, because Lâm Ti Phông was offside and blocking Văn Phong's view. Văn Vĩ still got his goal in the third minute of stoppage time, volleying in a cutback from Lâm Ti Phông to complete the 4-0 win, Bongdaplus wrote.
Công Phượng missing, Thắng ready to step aside
Thanh Niên said Công Phượng dropped out at the last minute with an injury whose extent was still unclear. Thể thao & Văn hóa, in a report carried by Bongda24h, said the striker was not fully fit, and added that full-back Lê Văn Sơn and centre-back Huỳnh Tấn Sinh were suspended.
At the post-match press conference, as reported by Thanh Niên, Thắng congratulated Nam Định and admitted his players lacked confidence and were tense. He listed the knocks: Ivan Andrei strained his groin in midweek, Công Phượng had a calf strain, and Ngọc Lâm, whom he had picked to start, suffered a calf strain too. The first thing to fix, he said, is fitness, because some older players were trying hard but could not make up the difference physically, and the team needs younger energy.
He then said it was time for a serious discussion with the club's leaders and that he thought he should stop, arguing the team needed renewal to move forward. Bongda24h, citing Thể thao & Văn hóa, added that he took responsibility for not doing well enough. For now this is only the coach's intention: Thanh Niên wrote that club owner Bầu Sơn's decision was not yet known and the club had issued no statement.
The table and Đồng Nai's run
Sportmonks data, including the games of 24 October and before the last two matches of round 5:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sông Lam Nghệ An | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | +6 | 11 |
| 2 | Nam Định | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Công an Hà Nội | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +5 | 10 |
| 4 | Ninh Bình | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +5 | 10 |
| 5 | Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 10 |
| 12 | Đà Nẵng | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −5 | 3 |
| 13 | Hoàng Anh Gia Lai | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −6 | 3 |
| 14 | TP Đồng Nai | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −10 | 1 |
Vũ Hồng Việt's Nam Định are second on 10 points, level with Công an Hà Nội, Ninh Bình and Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh and 1 point behind leaders Sông Lam Nghệ An on 11 points. Reports differed on Nam Định's position after the match (Dân trí had them third, SGGP second); the table above follows Sportmonks data. Thanh Niên pointed out it was their second straight win, with 6 goals scored and none conceded across the last two rounds, following a 2-0 win over Thanh Hóa.
Đồng Nai, meanwhile, sit bottom on 1 point after their first five V.League rounds:
| Round | Date | Match | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Sep | TP Đồng Nai v Thể Công Viettel | 0-2 |
| 2 | 13 Sep | Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh v TP Đồng Nai | 1-0 |
| 3 | 20 Sep | TP Đồng Nai v Công an Hà Nội | 0-3 |
| 4 | 18 Oct | Bắc Ninh v TP Đồng Nai | 0-0 |
| 5 | 24 Oct | TP Đồng Nai v Nam Định | 0-4 |
Thanh Niên noted that Đồng Nai are the only side yet to score in V.League 2026/27, having conceded 10 goals, and they are already out of the National Cup. According to Thể thao & Văn hóa, as carried by Bongda24h, five straight games without a goal equals the unwanted record set by An Giang in the 2014 season.
What comes next
In round 6, Đồng Nai will visit Hải Phòng at Lạch Tray at 18:00 on 31 October 2026, then host Đà Nẵng at 18:00 on 6 November 2026 and Hà Nội at 18:00 on 21 November 2026. Thanh Niên called those three games crucial and noted that Thắng would not be in charge for them if the club's leaders agree to let him go. Nam Định will host Thể Công Viettel at Thiên Trường at 18:00 on 31 October 2026.
Round 5 will close with two games at 18:00 on 25 October 2026: Ninh Bình v Công an TP.HCM and Đà Nẵng v Hà Nội. See the full V.League fixtures and V.League table, and how Sông Lam Nghệ An went top: HAGL 0-2 SLNA: Jairo scores against his old club.
Thành phố Đồng Nai0 – 4Nam Định