Young stars of Vietnam national team 'grow up like crazy' before the opportunity to attend Asian Cup

Nguyen Dinh Bac is one of the young players who have made remarkable progress since the beginning of 2023. From his excellent performance to win the title of Best Player of the 2023 First Division in the Quang Nam Club shirt, the talent born in 2004 has "caught the eye" of Coach Troussier. The striker from Nghe An has breathed the air of the Vietnamese national team for the first time since the FIFA Days in October. Notably, Dinh Bac, although the "youngest" of the team, has been given many opportunities to play by the "White Witch", even against strong teams like Uzbekistan and Korea.

After that, this 19-year-old talent continued to surprise, when he surpassed many seniors to appear in the official list for the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia at the end of November. On the day of his debut for the Vietnamese team in an official tournament, the striker of the Quang Nam team left his mark with the goal that sealed a 2-0 victory over the Philippines in the first match.

Dinh Bac (15) in the match between Vietnam and Iraq in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in November.

Returning to Quang Nam Club to compete, Dinh Bac is one of the young players receiving a lot of attention. This striker born in 2004 is trying to improve himself every day. With the typical characteristics of a player from Nghe An, the 19-year-old striker always shows enthusiasm and plays passionately whether he is given the opportunity from the starting lineup or the bench. When Dinh Bac is on the field, the Quang Nam team's playing style often improves. After the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup with the Vietnam team, he scored 1 goal after 3 appearances for Quang Nam Club in the V-League.

Dinh Bac shared: "V-League is a tough tournament, but very beneficial for young players like me. Regarding the opportunity to play international matches for the Vietnam team, this helps me learn many lessons and gain more confidence when competing."

Dinh Bac (15) is the "youngest" in the Vietnamese team playing the first two matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

In January 2024, the Vietnamese team will compete in the 2024 Asian Cup Finals. After round 8 of the V-League (late December), coach Troussier and the players will gather again to prepare for the biggest tournament in Asia taking place in Qatar. Not long ago, the French coach also sent a preliminary list of 50 players to the tournament organizers. Dinh Bac is expected to continue to be part of the Vietnamese team.

Regarding this, the young striker of Quang Nam Club expressed: "At the moment, I am focusing and playing my best for Quang Nam Club. I think I first need to play well in the matches in V-League. From there, if coach Philippe Troussier has confidence, he will call me to the Vietnam team to participate in the upcoming 2023 Asian Cup."

Dinh Bac (right) always plays very aggressively for Quang Nam Club.

The Vietnamese team will open the 2024 calendar year with matches at the 2023 Asian Cup. At this top Asian playground, coach Philippe Troussier's team is in a very difficult group D, with the presence of Japan, Iraq and Indonesia. Dang Van Lam and his teammates will meet Japan (January 14, 2024), Indonesia (January 19, 2024), Iraq (January 24, 2024).

The 2023 Asian Cup will have 24 participating teams, divided equally into 6 groups. Each group will compete in a round robin to calculate points and rank. The top two teams in each group and the 4 third-placed teams with the best results will advance to the round of 16. The Vietnamese team has every chance of advancing to the knockout round. At the most recent Asian Cup (2019), Coach Park Hang-seo's team reached the quarter-finals.

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