HÀ NỘI — Although Việt Nam were stopped in the ASEAN Football Federation Cup’s semi-final, two players are included in the list of top players in the event by the prestigious website espnfcasia.com.

Defending champions Thailand accounted for six of the 11 players named, Indonesia for three players and Việt Nam has two: midfielder Lương Xuân Trường and striker Lê Công Vinh.

“Just 21 years old, Trường imposed himself on the second leg of Việt Nam’s semi-final against Indonesia by providing 87 passes, with a 95-per cent accuracy rate. Of those passes, five directly set up shots on goal for Việt Nam. In football speak, he totally bossed the midfield,” said the website.

“Based in South Korea with Incheon United, and having made his debut in the ultra-competitive K-Classic, Trường has the ability to be the fulcrum of the Vietnamese midfield for the next decade and beyond. Always seeming to have extra time on the ball, Trường is Việt Nam’s answer to Spanish icon Xabi Alonso. He was incredibly unfortunate to be on the losing side in the semifinals,” the website added.

Besides Trường, the website also picked midfielders Stefano Lilipaly of Indonesia, Sarach Yooyen and Theerathon Bunmathan of Thailand.

In the attack line, Vietnamese striker Vinh was named alongside Chanathip Songkrasin and Dangda of Thailand.

“Although Việt Nam were eliminated at the semi-final stage, it wasn’t for lack of effort, or quality. Vinh led the Việt Nam line with intelligence and poise, and was crisp and accurate in his passing when he dropped deeper.

“Unlucky to see a header just before halftime come back off the inside of the post, the 30-year-old’s link up play with Nguyễn Văn Quyết, Nguyễn Văn Toàn and, later, Phạm Thành Lương, set up numerous situations against Myanmar in the second leg when Việt Nam had 75 per cent of the ball.

“He also was the man fouled in the first leg in Bogor to enable Việt Nam to draw level. As this was Vinh’s international swansong, it was a sad way for the much-travelled striker to sign off,” said the website. — VNS