Quang Hải and Đình Bắc may face the Thai team in the Asian tournament

Hanoi Police FC could potentially meet a team from Thai football in the quarterfinals if they progress further in the 2025/26 AFC Champions League Two (Asian C2 Cup), after a dominant win in the first leg of the round of 16.

In the first leg of the 2025/26 Asian C2 Cup round of 16, CAHN demonstrated superior strength by defeating Tampines Rovers (Singapore) 4-0 at Hang Day Stadium. This win puts the police team one step closer to the quarterfinals, needing only to avoid losing by more than three goals away to advance.

The convincing performance against Tampines Rovers showed that CAHN is operating smoothly with sharp and effective attacking play. Stars like Nguyễn Quang Hải, Rogerio Santos, and Nguyễn Đình Bắc continued to make significant impacts, giving the Vietnamese side a huge advantage before the rematch in Singapore.

If they complete their task in the round of 16, CAHN's opponent in the quarterfinals will be the winner between Bangkok United (Thailand) and Macarthur FC (Australia). Both are formidable opponents but are considered not overwhelmingly superior to CAHN.

Notably, Macarthur is not unfamiliar to the Vietnamese club. The two teams were in the same group in this season’s Asian C2 Cup. At home, CAHN drew 1-1 with Macarthur but later lost 1-2 in the away match in Australia. If they meet again in the quarterfinals, CAHN will face the Australian side four times in one season.

If Bangkok United surpasses Macarthur, CAHN will face the third representative from Thai football this season. Previously, in the 2025/26 ASEAN Club Championship (Southeast Asian C1 Cup), CAHN met BG Pathum United and Buriram United, both away matches.

In the match against BG Pathum United, despite playing with a man advantage for most of the second half, CAHN suffered a 1-2 comeback defeat. The Vietnamese side opened the scoring through Alan Sebastiao’s goal assisted by Leo Artur, but then Chanathip Songkrasin shone with a brace, including a spectacular goal from midfield in stoppage time, leaving CAHN empty-handed in a bitter loss.

Afterwards, in the away game against Buriram United, CAHN also dropped points regrettably when conceding a 1-1 equalizer at the last minute via a penalty, despite taking an early lead through Leo Artur and playing with a man advantage for most of the remaining time.

These results show that Thai clubs always pose tough challenges for CAHN, even when the Vietnamese team has tactical or numerical advantages. Therefore, the prospect of facing Bangkok United in the quarterfinals, if it happens, will definitely be a significant test of the resilience and consistency of Coach Polking’s squad.