Nguyen Dinh Bac, a Vietnamese forward, made history by becoming the first player from Vietnam to win the top scorer award at the U23 Asian Cup 2026. He shared the prestigious honor with three other players: Ryunosuke Sato of Japan, Ali Azaizeh of Jordan, and Leonardo Farah Shahin of Lebanon, all of whom netted four goals during the tournament. The race for the golden boot concluded on 24/1, following Japan's 4-0 victory over China at King Abdullah Sports City Hall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Sato scored one goal to reach the four-goal mark.

Vietnamese forward Nguyen Dinh Bac celebrates his 64th-minute goal to defeat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final group A match of the U23 Asian Cup 2026 finals, at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 12/1. *Photo: AFC*

Dinh Bac's four goals showcased his individual brilliance throughout the competition. His fourth goal, a free-kick strike in the third-place playoff match against South Korea, secured his position among the top scorers. Earlier in the tournament, he opened the scoring with a penalty in a 2-0 group stage win against Jordan. He then netted a solo effort against Saudi Arabia and a crucial back-header to equalize 2-2 in the 3-2 quarter-final victory over the United Arab Emirates. Notably, all of Dinh Bac's goals were scored against some of the continent's leading teams.

Beyond his goal-scoring prowess, Dinh Bac also contributed significantly to his team's offense, being involved in six goals in total: four goals and two assists. This remarkable achievement matches Sato's contribution and sets a new record for a Vietnamese player at an U23 Asian Cup. The previous record was held by Nguyen Quang Hai in 2018, who scored five goals without any assists, finishing one goal behind Qatar's Almoez Ali in the top scorer race that year.

According to tournament regulations, if multiple players finish as joint top scorers, they are all recognized with the award. The last time the tournament saw multiple players share this title was in 2022, when five players each scored three goals: Yuito Suzuki (Japan), Ayman Yahya (Saudi Arabia), Cho Young-wook (South Korea), Suphanat Mueanta (Thailand), and Jasurbek Jaloliddinov (Uzbekistan).

Despite his overall stellar performance, Dinh Bac's tournament ended with a minor blemish. He received a direct red card in the 86th minute of the third-place match for a dangerous challenge with studs up. This suspension by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) means he will miss two subsequent matches, including a critical Vietnam national team fixture against Malaysia in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers on 31/3 at Thien Truong Stadium.

Born on 19/8/2004 in Nghe An, Nguyen Dinh Bac developed his skills at the SLNA training academy before joining Quang Nam and later playing for Hanoi Police Club. He has earned 13 caps for the national team and was named the best player at the U23 Southeast Asia 2025 tournament, where Vietnam secured their third consecutive championship title.

Xuan Binh