The 2026 World Cup, the world’s greatest soccer festival, had come to a close, and I thought life had returned to its usual peaceful routine… but that was just as I was thinking that.
I’d heard that “soccer is the most popular sport in Vietnam,” but I had an experience where I literally felt that passion firsthand.
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t even aware of the “2026 ASEAN Cup” at first, but I noticed something was up because it was unusually noisy near my home (lol). When I looked into it, I found out that the first leg of the final against our rivals, the Thai national team, was being played in Thailand.
Then, on Wednesday, August 26, the second leg of the final was held at My Dinh National Stadium in my home city of Hanoi
Soccer fever exploded throughout the city
Vietnamese flags were being sold on the streets, and you could sense that a massive frenzy was brewing
Even inside the taxi I took during the match, the driver was checking the live broadcast on his smartphone
On street corners, local fans gathered around monitors, cheering passionately.
I couldn’t help but stop in my tracks and join the “street-corner public viewing” for a while.
The Vietnamese national team won the championship! The victory parade continued late into the night
After a fierce battle, the Vietnamese national team was crowned champion!!
The moment the match ended, the sound of car horns and trumpets echoed throughout the city, and an impromptu celebratory parade began, led by people on motorcycles flying national flags.
August 26, the day the victory was confirmed, was a weekday—a Wednesday. In Japan, people might usually tone down the celebrations a bit, thinking about “work the next day,” but this day was an exception—it was a truly special occasion.
The night’s frenzy and excitement—truly symbolic of “Vietnam, a young and energetic nation”—continued late into the night, and by the next morning, daily life had returned as if nothing had happened.
It was a night that made me realize that this explosive passion and energy are the very essence of Vietnam’s current momentum.
As a resident of Hanoi, I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the Vietnamese national soccer team on winning the 2026 ASEAN Cup. Chúc mừng!! (Congratulations!!)
