Chinese newspaper surprised when overseas Vietnamese star chooses Vietnam team

As you know, recently, overseas Vietnamese midfielder Chung Nguyen Do said goodbye to Bulgarian football after being called up to the Vietnam U23 team. It is worth mentioning that before returning to Vietnam to compete, the star born in 2005 was one of the brightest young talents of Bulgarian football.

Báo Trung Quốc ngỡ ngàng khi sao Việt kiều chọn tuyển Việt Nam - 1 — Chung Nguyen Do in Ninh Binh FC shirt (Photo: Ninh Binh FC).

This player has represented Bulgaria at the U17, U19 and U21 levels. In 2025, he played 5 matches for the Bulgaria U21 team. Many people even believe that Chung Nguyen Do is planned to wear the Bulgaria national team shirt in the future when he regularly plays and shines for the Slavia Sofia club. Last season, he played 31/34 matches for this club and scored 2 goals.

Chinese media was surprised by Chung Nguyen Do's choice: "The overseas Vietnamese midfielder has officially given up the opportunity to play for the Bulgarian national team at all levels, to devote himself entirely to the Vietnamese team.

Many people were surprised by Chung Nguyen Do's decision because they thought Bulgarian football had missed out on a promising young talent.

Just two months ago, Chung Nguyen Do was a key player for Slavia Sofia. He played 31 of 34 games for the Bulgarian top flight club last season and was named as one of the top three young players in the league. The 20-year-old midfielder has also played more than 30 games for Bulgaria’s youth teams, from U17 to U21, becoming a key member of the national youth team.

Báo Trung Quốc ngỡ ngàng khi sao Việt kiều chọn tuyển Việt Nam - 2 — Chung Nguyen Do turned down the opportunity to play for Bulgaria to focus on contributing to the Vietnam national team (Photo: Slavia Sofia).

However, after returning to Vietnam to play for Ninh Binh Club, Chung Nguyen Do submitted an application to FIFA to change federations, from the Bulgarian Football Federation to the Vietnam Football Federation. This means that he refused the opportunity to play for the Bulgarian national team, to focus on contributing to the Vietnamese national team.

Newspaper 163 believes that the appearance of Chung Nguyen Do will help the Vietnamese team become more formidable: “Chung Nguyen Do considers Vietnam his homeland and wants to devote himself to the national team of this country. Recently, he was called up to the Vietnam U23 team to prepare for the qualifying round of the U23 Asian Cup.

His presence will help Vietnamese football become more formidable. Coach Kim Sang Sik aims to win all three matches in the qualifying round of the U23 Asian Cup to reach the final round.

Recently, Bulgarian newspaper Dsport also expressed regret when Chung Nguyen Do decided to choose the Vietnamese team: "Former Slavia Sofia player Chung Nguyen Do said goodbye to Bulgarian football after a short time playing football in Vietnam.

Chung Nguyen Do has represented Bulgaria at youth levels but the player has been licensed by FIFA to represent the Vietnam national team.

Recently, Chung Nguyen Do decided to play for Ninh Binh Club. Perhaps, that influenced this player to choose the Vietnam team instead of Bulgaria.

On his personal page, Chung Nguyen Do said goodbye to Bulgarian football to focus on Vietnamese football. The defensive midfielder said: “I will close a book full of successes, friends and unforgettable moments. I feel honored to contribute to Bulgarian football. Thank you for the support, thank you for the memories and thank you for everything.”

Along with this status, Chung Nguyen Do posted a photo of himself wearing the Bulgarian youth team jersey. Last month, FIFA confirmed that this Vietnamese-American player had successfully transferred from Bulgaria to Vietnam. In the past, Chung Nguyen Do had never played for the Bulgarian national team, so he is eligible to play for Vietnamese teams.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-trung-quoc-ngo-ngang-khi-sao-viet-kieu-chon-tuyen-viet-nam-20250828180433008.htm