Indonesian fans feel jealous after CAHN's historic achievement.

Seeing Cong An Ha Noi beat Adelaide United and secure a spot in the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite, quite a few Indonesian supporters felt disheartened.

After the disappointment at the AFF Cup, Indonesian fans have another reason to feel envious when looking at Vietnamese football. At the club level, Hanoi Police have just defeated Adelaide United right on Australian soil to earn a ticket to the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite, while Indonesia has no representative in Asia's most prestigious club competition.

Notably, on Southeast Asian football forums, CAHN's victory sparked many reactions from Indonesian fans, with many candid opinions acknowledging the gap between the two countries' football.

Account Deno was one of those who made the strongest comments:

“There is no debate anymore, the Vietnamese national league is truly far ahead of our league.”

Another fan named Pencari Sport even linked the club-level results with the competition between the two football nations:

“Now we know why our national team gets tormented by Vietnam, simply because Vietnamese clubs are better.”

This is not the only comment praising Vietnamese football. Account Jack Viola wrote: “Congratulations to Vietnam. It seems their league and national team are heading towards the number one position in Southeast Asia.”

Meanwhile, user Ilham Malik M was particularly impressed by how CAHN defeated Adelaide United. This fan warned that the Vietnamese team could become a very formidable opponent for Persib Bandung in the ASEAN Club Championship.

“Hanoi Police's counter-attacking ability is truly frightening. This is a potential opponent for Persib in the ASEAN Cup Championship that we need to be wary of. Congratulations to Frans Putros, congratulations to Hanoi Police”, this account commented.

These reactions become even more notable when looking at the list of Southeast Asian representatives in the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite. For the first time in the history of the tournament under the name AFC Champions League Elite, five Southeast Asian clubs will participate in the League Stage. They are Ratchaburi FC, Buriram United, and Port FC from Thailand, Johor Darul Ta'zim from Malaysia, and Cong An Ha Noi from Vietnam.

Indonesia has no representative among these five clubs. That detail immediately became a hot topic of discussion. Some Indonesian fans, instead of arguing, chose to self-mock about the absence of their country's football.

Account Baguz Robeerto left a brief comment in Indonesian: “Don't look for something that doesn't exist.”

Some other accounts also repeated the same phrase as regional fans kept asking “Where is Indonesia?”

Behind that joking manner is a reality that makes fans of the archipelago nation inevitably feel envious. Account Saepul Alam Syah did not hide the wish that Persib Bandung could one day reach a similar position:“Hopefully in the future Persib can appear like these teams.”

Even when Indonesia's absence was widely mentioned on Southeast Asian football forums, some Indonesian fans could only resort to self-mockery. Some recalled Persija's old victory over JDT, others placed hope on Persib in the AFC Champions League Two, but the reality remains unchanged: Indonesia has no representative in the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite.

Meanwhile, Hanoi Police have earned the right to enter Asia's most prestigious club competition, where they could face big names like Gamba Osaka, Kashima Antlers, Vissel Kobe, or top West Asian representatives. Furthermore, if they advance deep, CAHN even faces the opportunity to face Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, thereby creating another special mark for Vietnamese football on the continental stage.