Vietnamese football and the story of 'managing players' during the World Cup season

As always, every World Cup or EURO season, domestic clubs are troubled by the issue of "managing players". However, the 2026 World Cup is different; things can be easier than before because this is the "off-season" period for domestic football fields.

This is understandable because domestic tournaments like V-League and First Division have officially concluded before the Trionda ball rolls on the stadiums in the US, Canada, and Mexico. By now, as the 2025/26 V-League and First Division seasons have ended, most domestic clubs have let their players "rest". Only four clubs — The Cong Viettel, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, and CATP.HCM — continue training for the two National Cup semi-finals, which will be played on the opening day of the World Cup.

When domestic tournaments end, the "rest" period is when players from domestic clubs go home, visit their wives, children, families, or enjoy summer vacations. Looking around, all V-League and First Division clubs allow their players to rest until the end of June, then start regrouping around the first week of July for the new season. The 2026/27 season is scheduled to begin in early September with the National Super Cup match, with a break of nearly three months between seasons. Therefore, it's understandable that clubs give their players a long rest.

In the joy of SHB Da Nang securing their V-League survival, coach Le Duc Tuan (SHB Da Nang) shared: "I am very happy that SHB Da Nang successfully avoided relegation. The utmost efforts, spirit, unity, and determination of the whole team have been rewarded. I would like to sincerely thank the city leaders, the club, sponsors, fans, and media agencies that have always accompanied and supported us throughout this period."

The V-League ends at the same time the World Cup begins. Coach Le Duc Tuan said SHB Da Nang will also let players "rest" after a season lasting over 10 months: "After the season, the club's management decided to give the players about a month off. The team will regroup around early July. The players rest, but myself and the leaders still have many things to do to prepare best for the new season. The coaching staff will soon plan the personnel and improve the playing style to prepare best for the next V-League season."

Speaking about the "player management" during the World Cup, Coach Le Duc Tuan believes that following the major tournament is a legitimate professional learning need, so the club does not impose a ban: "Because this is a rest period, we emphasize the players' self-discipline to balance watching football and proper rest. During the World Cup, players have scheduled rest time. They are grown and mature; they know how to maintain fitness, choose appropriate time slots to watch matches, and only watch replays of late games. We cannot forbid or monitor every player because it comes down to each individual's awareness."

By mid-July, when the club regroups, the coaching staff will be flexible in allowing players to watch live matches. For example, maybe for exciting matches from the quarter-finals onward, the team will arrange for players to watch together at the club's headquarters."

Coach Le Duc Tuan shared: "Following recent World Cups has shown that the gap between Asian football and the world has been narrowed. Additionally, VAR technology increasingly makes matches fairer. Through major tournaments like the World Cup or EURO, coaches can also draw lessons on how to operate their team's playing style, thereby diversifying tactics to build the squad."