Football

Nguyễn Tiến Linh is one of best players of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Photo of VFF

HÀ NỘI -- As the goal scorer of two of the three goal win against the Philippines during the 2026 World Cup qualifier last week, striker Nguyễn Tiến Linh has been named one of best players by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

"With only one win from their first four matches, Việt Nam looked set to crash out of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, but under new head coach Kim Sang-sik, they defeated the Philippines 3-2 in a thriller to keep their hopes alive in Group F – with Nguyễn Tiến Linh providing the impetus with a double in the comeback victory," the AFC wrote on its website.

"Linh, who scored eight goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and six times in Việt Nam’s run into the 2022 AFF Championship final, opened his account with the Golden Star Warriors’ equaliser in the 65th minute before planting a towering header past Azkals' goalkeeper Neil Etheridge 11 minutes later."

The win leaves Việt Nam in second place to Indonesia, separated by just one point as they head into their final match against group leaders Iraq.

The second round will conclude with the final set of fixtures on June 12, with only five spots available for teams.

Việt Nam need to beat the hosts and wait for the Philippines' to take a win over Indonesia to qualify for the next stage.

Other players that caught AFC's attention were forward Koki Ogawa (Japan), centre back Husniddin Aliqulov (Uzbekistan), forward Son Heung-min (South Korea), right winger Abdulrahman Al Mushaifri (Oman), forward Yazan Al Naimat (Jordan), forward Behram Abduweli (China) and forward Ali Jasim (Iraq). VNS