With five goals in seven appearances so far at the ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ 2026, Vietnam’s Nguyễn Đình Bắc will go into the second leg of the final against Thailand in Hanoi on Wednesday locked in a tussle with team mate Nguyễn Xuân Son for the golden boot.
But while Brazil-born predator Xuân Son is no stranger to the upper reaches of the tournament’s scoring charts after finishing as the leading marksman in 2024, the possibility that 22-year-old Đình Bắc could finish as the top scorer would once have been fanciful.
Released by the academy side of hometown club Sông Lam Nghệ An during his teenage years because he was deemed to be too small, Đình Bắc’s talents were almost lost to Vietnam.
“I grew up in the countryside, and I developed a strong love for football when I was in the second grade,” says Đình Bắc. “After school, and even during breaks between lessons, I would always go out to the school playground and play football with my friends.
“Looking back now, I feel that those moments were the foundation and the starting point that led me to pursue football professionally.
“Before joining Sông Lam Nghệ An, I had already spent two years training outside the academy. After passing the entrance selection, I spent another three years training there.
“Unfortunately, I was released because I did not meet the requirements regarding my physical development. At that time, I was very sad. I had never imagined that one day I would be released and have to stop pursuing football.”
The decision was a blow for a then 14-year-old Đình Bắc, who thought his dream of becoming a professional was about to disappear. With his parents’ support, he returned to school and for two years he was outside the academy system.
That period, however, coincided with a growth spurt and Đình Bắc, encouraged by his new physique, decided to make another attempt at fulfilling his ambitions, this time at the Quảng Nam FC academy. The outcome was different on this occasion.
“That was when I had the thought that perhaps I should try one more time and see how far I could go,” he says. “My parents respected that decision as well.
“I was then called up again and, from that point, I returned to the professional football pathway and have continued on it until today.”
Đình Bắc’s trajectory since joining Quảng Nam in 2019 has been notable. During the first half of the 2022 season, he featured for the club’s reserve team before graduating to the senior side, although he did not make his debut for the first team until the 2023 campaign.
It was during this period that he first gained national attention, joining Vietnam in 2022 for the ASEAN U-19 Youth Championship before earning a call-up to the country’s under-23 team a year later, although his involvement in the AFC U23 Asian Cup was cut short by injury.
He had, though, caught the eye of then-national team coach Philippe Troussier, who included the youngster in the senior side during qualifying for the FIFA World Cup with Đình Bắc scoring for the first time in a 2-0 win over the Philippines.
From there he travelled with Vietnam to the AFC Asian Cup finals in Qatar, where he netted against four-times continental champions Japan in a 4-2 loss in the group phase. It was a moment that saw him propel into the public eye.
“At that time, I had just returned from the AFC U23 tournament, and then I received the call-up to join the senior national team,” says Đình Bắc. “I never expected to be called up at that point because I had just turned 19.
“Before the match against the Philippines, I had already played several friendly matches with the national team, against China, Kyrgyzstan and South Korea. Those were very valuable experiences for me.
“When I scored against the Philippines and then against Japan, I saw those goals as moments on the pitch.
But because I scored those goals at the age of 19, I received a lot of expectations from the fans.
“After that, however, I went through a difficult period of around two years. I faced many difficulties in life as well as a series of injuries, which also affected me mentally.
“But in the end, I worked very hard to get another opportunity to return and play for the national team. I think that experience has been very important for me.”
Those challenges saw Đình Bắc miss Vietnam’s title win at the 2024 ASEAN Championship but he has played a key role in the team’s surge to the final again in their quest for back-to-back successes.
All five of his goals so far came in the group phase and included a hat-trick against Timor-Leste while he has also provided three assists.
The most recent of those came in the 2-0 win over Thailand in the first leg of the final in Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on Saturday, when his astute backheel set up Nguyễn Hai Long to score the opener.
“Although I have scored five goals in this year’s tournament, personally I think I still need to work much harder,” says Đình Bắc. “I still have many weaknesses that I need to improve in the future.
“I need to forget about those five goals and return to focusing on training, my lifestyle, my diet and getting enough rest.”
And while having the opportunity to raise the coveted ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ above his head on Wednesday will no doubt be Đình Bắc’s immediate goal, the forward – who turned 22 on August 19 – has his sights set on a move overseas in the longer term.
“I really hope that one day I can play in a competition with a higher level of quality, perhaps at Asian level,” says Đình Bắc, who currently features for V.League 1 champions and ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ Season 2024/25 runners-up and participants, Công An Hà Nội FC.
“I really like Japanese football. Football in Japan has developed very strongly, and if I ever have the opportunity to play in Japan, I would be ready to face that challenge and see how far I could go.
“When you try something, you find out what you are capable of. You don’t know whether you will fail or succeed until you take the opportunity. So, if I get the chance, I would definitely like to play in Japan one day.”
The ASEAN Hyundai Cup™ 2026, the jewel in the crown of ASEAN football, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Visit aseanutdfc.com and @aseanutdfc on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X and LinkedIn for news, fixtures, match previews and reports, post-match interviews, match video highlights, standings and broadcast listings.
