Hoang Duc's team wins narrowly, Viettel asserts its class in the National Cup quarter-finals

The 2025/2026 National Cup continues to deliver thrilling developments in the quarter-finals. While Ninh Bình staged a breathless comeback against PVF-CAND, The Cong Viettel demonstrated resilience with a minimal victory over Bac Ninh to secure their spot in the semi-finals.

At home, Ninh Bình and PVF-CAND provided spectators with an emotionally charged match. The Ancient Capital's team started proactively and gained an advantage at the 29th minute following Van Dung's own goal for PVF-CAND. However, that advantage didn't last long when just five minutes later, Mahmoud seized an opportunity inside the box to bring the match back to square one.

The second half witnessed an exciting back-and-forth battle. At the 67th minute, Geovane shone with a beautiful free-kick, allowing Ninh Bình to once again take the lead. But PVF-CAND continued to show tenacity when Vu Tin scored to equalize 2-2 at the 83rd minute, pushing the match to its climax. When everyone was thinking about penalties, the turning point appeared in the third minute of stoppage time. Gia Hung seized the moment, finishing decisively, sealing a 3-2 victory for Ninh Bình. This result not only helped Coach Vu Tien Thanh's team secure a ticket to the semi-finals but also ended their previous streak of five matches with only draws and losses.

Meanwhile, the match between The Cong Viettel and Bac Ninh at Hang Day Stadium unfolded according to a tight and somewhat tense script. The military-backed team concretized their advantage early with a goal at the 13th minute by Lucao, following a breakout and a cool finish in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper.

The Cong Viettel subsequently continued to exert great pressure, even putting the ball into the net again at the 33rd minute, but the goal was not recognized due to an offside foul after VAR consultation. The turning point of the match came at the end of the first half when Bac Ninh had to play with only 10 men after a direct red card was given to Le Van Ha for a dangerous foul.

Playing with a numerical advantage in the second half, The Cong Viettel proactively slowed the pace, controlled the game, and didn't give the opponent many opportunities. Despite Bac Ninh's intense efforts in the final minutes, they couldn't penetrate the host team's tight defense. Ultimately, The Cong Viettel secured a 1-0 victory, thereby claiming the final ticket to the semi-finals.