Football

Quế Ngọc Hải is selected as one of the candidates for the all-time AFC Asian Cup Dream XI. Fans are asked to join the vote, an activity to celebrate the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar. — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese defender Quế Ngọc Hải has been named a candidate for the AFC Asian Cup's best team of all time.

With six months to go until the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) invites fans to vote for their all-time dream team in its latest campaign.

After 17 editions and nearly 67 years, some of the biggest icons in continental and global football have graced Asia’s crown jewel, each leaving an indelible mark and contributing to the transformation of the Asian Cup into one of the most anticipated sporting events in the world.

Amongst the most prominent megastars, both past and present, for fans to vote for include South Korea and Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min and two-time Asian Cup winner and Saudi Arabia’s all-time leading goal scorer Majed Abdullah.

Defender Hải is the only representative of Việt Nam and one of two Southeast Asian players along with defender Soh Chin Aun of Malaysia in the list which includes 10 defenders.

Quế Ngọc Hải is one of 10 defenders nominated for the Asian Cup Dream XI. — Photo the-afc.com

Hải, 30, took part in only one Asian Cup in 2019 but the former national team captain made an impressive performance leading his team to the quarter-finals where they lost to Japan. He played 580 minutes in five matches and scored one goal.

There will be four defenders in the Dream team. Hải will have to overcome Asian favourites such as Yuto Nagatomo of Japan, Hong Myung-bo of South Korea, Mehdi Mahdavikia of Iran and Bassam Al Rawi of Qatar.

AFC invites supporters to take part in the vote to select their favourite players in each position to put together a combined all-time dream AFC Asian Cup starting squad.

Voting closes on July 30. The final squad will be selected based on fan votes as well as input from a panel of football experts. The final squad will be announced on August 12, five months ahead of the competition.

The fan whose squad matches the final selected Dream Team will win a trip with a companion to the opening match between defending champions Qatar and Lebanon.

Fans can visit the-AFC.com/dreamXI or the AFC’s official mobile application, AFC LIVE, to cast their votes. — VNS