In this photo collage are Nguyễn Đình Bắc (left) and Nguyễn Xuân Son (right). — Photo courtesy of the VPF.

Anh Đức

In my last column, I talked about how coach Kim Sang-sik was the man with the Midas touch, whose prowess has brought regional football dominance for Việt Nam in 2025 by winning all three major ASEAN football competitions.

But for Kim, for the players and the fans, victories in regional cups are not enough. The recent journey at the AFC U23 Asian Cup is a prime example of how Vietnamese football can rise and square up against continental football powerhouses, and aiming for the World Cup is no longer a far-fetched idea.

In his press conference after the AFC U23 Asian Cup, Kim stressed that the door to the national team is open for any players who show determination. His way of selecting and rotating players during the cup proved that idea: besides the third-choice goalkeeper, all of the players in his squad have playing time.

Perhaps never in Việt Nam's football history has there ever been something called a "selection headache" for the head coach. The emergence of young players, as well as the continuing search for expat and naturalised players, provided Kim and his staff with an enormous pool of players to select from.

Việt Nam's national team now mirrors exactly its national league: a combination of local and foreign talents working its way towards success. And the two players most representative of that idea are Nguyễn Đình Bắc and Nguyễn Xuân Son.

Bắc is an example of how a local Vietnamese player could rise to continental standards. From scoring an unbelievable header at the age of 19 against Japan in the Asian Cup to becoming Việt Nam's first-ever tournament top scorer at a continental championship is a testament to how he has grown as a player. Out of the local players, Bắc has the potential to even go abroad, playing in nations with developed football leagues such as Japan or South Korea.

Bắc's other U23 teammates, such as centre back Nguyễn Nhật Minh and midfielder Nguyễn Thái Sơn can challenge for the starting places in Kim's national team squad, after proving their worth in the U23 Asian Cup.

In goal, the ever-reliable Trần Trung Kiên, despite being a local player, is only one centimetre shorter than Nguyễn Filip, and with Đặng Văn Lâm, Cao Văn Bình, Nguyễn Đình Triệu, Quan Văn Chuẩn and Patrik Lê Giang all available for selection, Việt Nam has gone from an era of shortage in goalkeeping talents in 2000-2017 to a positive abundance of players guarding the net.

Up front, we have to talk about Nguyễn Xuân Son and his remarkable return from a horrific injury. After one year of recovery, the Brazilian-born striker scored eight goals in five games for the Việt Nam national team and Thép Xanh Nam Định FC.

Son's firepowers are also going to have a boost, with his former partner in Nam Định Đỗ Hoàng Hên (formerly known as Hendrio), ready for selection starting in the match against Malaysia. The combination of Son and Hên resulted in 41 goals for Nam Định in the 2023/24 season, and Việt Nam would need that striking record in their coming plans.

With the World Cup's expansion to 48 teams, and a possible further growth to 64 in the 2030 FIFA World Cup, Vietnamese fans have high hopes for qualification in the 100th edition of the beautiful game's greatest tournament.

In the era of national rise, what could be more fitting than attending the World Cup for one of Asia's most football loving nation? — VNS