Where to watch the Football World Cup 2026 in Vietnam

snake77 Serial expat

306POSTS

6 days ago

NOT here to advertise FIFA or Places!

Since the past 24hrs or so, many folks have been talking and asking about where’s the best place to watch the upcoming next World Cup Quarter Finals this weekend, with (local VN time):

Fri Jul-10, 03.00am France VS Marocco
Sat Jul-11, 02.00am Spain VS Belgium
Sun Jul-12, 04.00am Norway VS England
Sun Jul-12, 08.00am Argentina VS Switzerland

For anyone wondering where to watch, all I can say regarding Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), you can be sure that all 4 games will be broadcasted live in thousands of local venues throughout the city, as well as the entire country!

But to make it a bit easier for any expats, as well as anyone else, including tourists, one of the best places or easiest areas to find a lively spot and enjoy, the famous Bui Vien Walking Street in Pham Ngu Lao, District 1 is by far the best and most convenient place to go, especially if you’re not familiar with the city or its nightlife.

As the games are late night or even early morning hours, there might not be too many otherwise popular expat type sports bars or venues, as the times are simply not attractive enough to keep the places open. Or, if it’s a bar which would anyway be open, you may find having a hard time getting the audio on, let alone that one of an English speaking broadcasting channel!

In short, as best as I’m able to share. If you’re a tourist and happen to be here this weekend, you might as well ask the hotel if they’ll be showing it.

In case you’re in District 1 and wish to watch among a crowd, as mentioned, your best guess is BUI VIEN street, multiple venues left, right and center!

Personally, I’d say that the best Sports Bar in downtown HCM/SGN nowadays, must be Phatty’s. However, I did ask and they weren’t able to confirm if they’ll be open for the first 3 games listed above, mainly because they’re not officially allowed to operate past midnight.

You’d have to check directly with them the day/night before the game.

The only thing I was able to get 100% confirmation about, is for all the Messi fans and those interested in the Sun Jul-12, 08.00am Argentina VS Switzerland clash.

In District 1, besides Bui Vien, the following venues are recommended:

Phatty’s Bar at 46-48 Đ. Tôn Thất Thiệp (predominant Aussie but international)
Number 5 Bar at 44-46 Pasteur (Long established Swiss owned local & international)

And another professional Sports Bar for expats in D2:

High Tide at 154 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng Thao Dien

This is only what I’m able to contribute, hope others here can share more info or recommend great location and other places to watch the games in their AO’s!

ps, watching it at a local no name venue in the middle of nowhere, together with a bunch of locals, might even be the greatest experience you could ever imagine, especially if you're a native of any of those nations playing, nothing more awesome to experience than to dress up in your colors and mix in with the locals, they'll love you more than any CR7 or Messi could ever imagine, you'll have a party you'll never forget!

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snake77 Serial expat

306POSTS

4 days ago

Hello everyone,
Thanks for sharing @snake77

Since we are talking about the World Cup, check out my thread here > Expat World Cup dilemma! ⚽I would love to hear from you. 😉

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team - @Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

Let me see, I did take a quick look at your thread, let me see again later on and if I get a chance, I’ll try to share a post. Interesting topic btw, but also very complex, considering the sheer spectrum of individual cases and opinions!

But to perhaps take your question with a focus on Vietnam, I think it’s worthwhile to explain a bit about what I would call “Vietnamese culture and love for the game”. Vietnam is a football crazy nation! Anyone who’s been here during any sort of championship where the National Vietnamese teams played and who witnessed the celebrations after even the slightest victories, let alone any sort of more serious achievements, will tell you that even the most football crazy nation can’t compete with the level of euphoria and sheer insanity which takes place on Vietnamese streets after winning anything even before even reaching the knockout stages!

I know no other country where the entire nation turns into a sea of red with yellow, dressed up in the national colors and is 100% occupied with football, even if it’s just about a U19 tournament. In most European nations, most likely a world championship victory wouldn’t even make it into the papers if it’s a U-19 or whatever junior league, while in VN it will be front page headline news if the U-19 team makes int the finals and on you’ll also see that on every corner vendors set up shop, selling shirts, caps, flags and what have you, without the coppers even daring to intervene, they did that once, after the tiger cup in 1995 or so, after that, never since!

Another phenomenon I’ve observed over the years, and dating back nearly 3 decades, is not just the fascination and love for football, but the knowledge so many folks here have.

Considering the time difference, it means that following for example the Champions League, Premier League, la Liga, Bundesliga or what have you, more often than not, you’d have to get up at 2.00 or 3.00am local time in the middle of the week, as well as weekends, in order to watch those games life!

I can somehow understand when people (football freaks) around the globe might care about watching something like the El Classico, especially back then when the 2 top names were still there. However, I doubt that most Spaniards would be able to tell you the score of the last 5 classicos, let alone who scored and in which order. But I’ve seen this numerous times, some folks here can easily tell you nearly every score of the last 10 Champions League finals, Euro Cups, WC, and even La Liga, BPL, etc, as well as who played, who won, the score and who scored!

It’s crazy!!!

Sadly, on a downside, it has to be said that for quite a substantial number of “football fans”, football is directly linked to a sometimes very severe form of gambling addiction. That’s the reason why the coppers nowadays set up checkpoints on both sides of the Saigon bridge when for example Brazil, CR7 or Messi is about to play a in knockout stage game. Suicide off the Saigon bridge became a common event for many, many years. And even if the jumpers have declined, the misery still continues to this day! While it’s generally prohibited and all happening underground, betting on football is a common problem and there’s an endless amount of numbers rackets operating in every corner of the country! That’s the truth which isn’t fully reported in the media, but every local can tell you about!

But apart from that dark side, it is still a fact that Vietnamese are utterly crazy football enthusiasts and that’s why I can recommend to anyone who loves football, and especially to those from countries which are currently taking part in the upcoming games and who happen to be in Vietnam, dress up in your colors, get out and go watch your game at any venue where there’s a crowd of Viets and/or foreigners! Regardless of if you love Messi or you’re a Swiss dressed in a red shirt with white cross, or flick on your Harry Potter or otherwise a Haaland shirt, regardless, you will have the time of your life enjoying the games among a hoard of crazy Viet Football Nut Heads! If your country wins, you’ll receive nothing short f a VIP reception. Equally, should your team suffer a defeat, an entire nation will be there to help you ease your pain and overcome your sufferings.

let the games beginnnnnn!