Đội này sẽ thắng hay hòa, nhưng không thua.

In Vietnamese, demonstratives like này (this) usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• đội này = this team
• literally: team this

This is a very common word order pattern in Vietnamese:

• người này = this person
• nhà này = this house

So đội này is completely normal Vietnamese word order.

sẽ is a future marker. It often means will or shows that the speaker is making a prediction about the future.

So:

• Đội này sẽ thắng hay hòa... = This team will win or draw...

In this sentence, sẽ applies to the whole prediction, not just the first verb. That is why không thua is also understood as part of the same future meaning: but will not lose.

Vietnamese often does not repeat the future marker before every verb if the meaning is already clear.

Yes. Here, hay means or.

In this sentence:

• thắng hay hòa = win or draw

A common learner question is how hay differs from hoặc. Both can mean or, but:

• hay is very common in everyday speech
• hoặc is often a bit more formal or more explicitly logical

In a sentence like this, hay sounds very natural.

They do two different jobs:

• hay = or
• nhưng = but

So the sentence structure is:

• thắng hay hòa = win or draw
• nhưng không thua = but not lose

The speaker is saying there are two acceptable outcomes, winning or drawing, and then adds a contrastive limit: but not losing.

In sports, hòa means to draw, to tie, or to end in a draw.

So:

• thắng = win
• hòa = draw / tie
• thua = lose

This is a very common sports vocabulary set.

Outside sports, hòa can have other meanings in other contexts, but here the sports meaning is clearly intended.

Because Vietnamese often avoids repeating words that are already understood from context.

The sentence begins with sẽ, so the future meaning is already established:

• Đội này sẽ thắng hay hòa, nhưng không thua.

This naturally means:

• This team will win or draw, but will not lose.

You could say nhưng sẽ không thua, and that would also be grammatical. But leaving out the second sẽ is very normal and sounds natural.

Yes, literally it is not lose:

• không = not
• thua = lose

But because Vietnamese does not always mark tense on every verb, the full meaning depends on the sentence context. Since sẽ already appears earlier, không thua is understood as will not lose.

So the literal wording is short, but the actual meaning is fully clear.

Because Vietnamese does not need a verb like to be in this kind of sentence.

English often needs extra structure:

• This team will either win or draw, but it will not lose.

Vietnamese can say it more directly with the subject followed by the verbs:

• Đội này sẽ thắng hay hòa, nhưng không thua.

There is no need for a separate equivalent of is or will be here.

Most naturally, it sounds like a prediction or a confident expectation.

Because of sẽ, the speaker is saying something about the future:

• This team will win or draw, but not lose.

Depending on tone and context, it can sound:

• neutral: a prediction
• confident: a strong opinion
• emphatic: almost a guarantee

The grammar itself does not force one exact level of certainty; context and voice do a lot of that work.

Yes, that is a very natural translation.

In fact, adding either in English often makes the logic sound smoother:

• This team will either win or draw, but not lose.

Vietnamese does not need a separate word matching English either here. The pair thắng hay hòa already expresses the alternative clearly.

Good question. Hay can appear in questions, but here it is not making the sentence a question.

For example, in some contexts A hay B? can mean A or B?

But in this sentence, the overall structure is a statement:

• Đội này sẽ thắng hay hòa, nhưng không thua.

The speaker is not asking whether the team will win or draw. The speaker is asserting that the team will get one of those two results, and definitely not lose.

So here hay is simply part of a statement meaning or.

A good way to break it down is:

• Đội này = this team
• sẽ = will
• thắng hay hòa = win or draw
• nhưng không thua = but not lose

So the logic is:

1. The team has two possible outcomes being presented: win or draw
2. The bad outcome is ruled out: not lose

In other words, the speaker means the team will avoid defeat.

That is why a very natural English interpretation is:

• This team won’t lose; it will either win or draw.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• đội: sounds roughly like doy with a falling-glottal type tone
• này: roughly nye with a level tone
• sẽ: roughly seh with a creaky rising tone in the North
• thắng: roughly thung / thang with a sharp rising tone
• hay: roughly high
• hòa: roughly hwa with a falling tone
• nhưng: roughly nyung
• không: roughly khong
• thua: roughly too-uh / thoo-uh

The exact pronunciation depends on dialect, especially North vs. South. If you are learning standard Northern Vietnamese, the tones are especially important here because words like sẽ, thắng, and đội all carry marked tones.

Yes, that would also be grammatical, but it changes the style a little.

Your version means something like:

• This team will not lose, only win or draw.

Compared with the original:

• Đội này sẽ thắng hay hòa, nhưng không thua.

The original sounds a bit more balanced and natural as a prediction. Your alternative sounds slightly more emphatic or explanatory.

Also note that hoặc is possible, but hay still sounds more natural in many everyday contexts.