V.League is still a playground for foreign players

Foreign players are the mainstay of V.League teams' attack. Photo: Cao Oanh .

Round 3 of V.League 2025/26 ended with 19 goals scored, including 15 goals from foreign players. Since the beginning of the season, 32/52 goals were scored by foreign players, not to mention two goals scored by overseas Vietnamese players Kenvin Pham Ba and Damian Vu. This ratio accounts for 65%, showing the growing influence of foreign players on Vietnam's number one tournament.

Foreign players become the mainstay of scoring goals for clubs

It is undeniable that superior physique, abundant physical strength and strong competitive ability help foreign players create a clear difference compared to domestic strikers. They bring to the matches high speed, fierce collisions and effective finishing ability.

In the context of the increasingly competitive V.League, the presence of quality players from abroad not only raises the level of expertise but also forces clubs to invest more heavily if they want to keep up with the game.

A typical example is Ninh Binh . Before the season, this rookie team made a big shopping spree, bringing in many stars and quality foreign players.

The results showed that the initial investment was correct. After 3 rounds, Ninh Binh was the only away team to win all, earning 9 full points.

Notably, 7/8 of their goals were scored by foreign players. The explosion of foreign players helped the ancient capital team not be overwhelmed by the harshness of V.League in their first season.

Alan Grafite and Leo Artur became the "Twin Strikers" on CAHN's attack line. Photo: CAHN.

Similar to Ninh Binh, CAHN owns a squad that is considered to have the most depth in V.League. However, after 3 rounds, foreign players are still the biggest support for coach Mano Polking and his team.

7/8 of CAHN's goals belong to foreign players, of which striker Alan Grafite alone scored 5 goals, leading the current list of top scorers. Leo Artur contributed 2 goals, while Quang Hai is the only domestic player to score for CAHN so far with 1 goal.

Even Da Nang , which is famous for its youth training, has had to look to foreign players as a survival solution. Financial difficulties forced the Han River team to register up to 3 foreign players right from the first matches of the season.

If this is not done, the risk of relegation may come soon to coach Le Duc Tuan and his team. In fact, both of Da Nang's goals up to this point have been scored by striker Henen.

V.League is more fierce

The appearance and explosion of foreign players makes V.League more fierce and attractive. The match is pushed to a high speed, requiring the club to prepare more carefully in both personnel and tactics.

However, this also has a significant consequence that domestic strikers are increasingly having difficulty performing. Many domestic strikers have to accept the role of reserve or move to the wing, falling back to create a background for foreign players to shine. In the long run, this can affect the strength of the national team, which needs good strikers to compete in international tournaments.

Foreign players leave a strong impression in V.League.

However, it is undeniable that foreign players also bring their own values to Vietnamese football. They help V.League get closer to the modern level and style of play, creating a fiercely competitive environment that forces domestic players to strive to improve themselves.

In addition, the wave of overseas Vietnamese players returning to compete such as Kenvin Pham Ba, Damiam Vu or before that Filip Nguyen, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, Dang Van Lam... also contributed to diversifying the playing style, adding quality personnel to both the club and the national team.

In the context of increasingly expanding continental playgrounds, V.League cannot stand aside. Investing in quality foreign players, along with youth training, must be considered a long-term development strategy. Vietnam's number one tournament needs to improve both its expertise and image to be competitive enough and retain good players, instead of just being a temporary stop for them.

Source: https://znews.vn/vleague-van-la-san-choi-cua-ngoai-binh-post1581547.html