Dinh Bac won the award for best player of U23 Southeast Asia 2025

(Dan Tri) - Striker Nguyen Dinh Bac has made history in regional football when he became the first Vietnamese player to win the Best Player award at the U23 Southeast Asian tournament.

On the evening of July 29, Nguyen Dinh Bac and his teammates at U23 Vietnam won 1-0 against host U23 Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, thereby winning the championship for the third consecutive time at the Southeast Asian U23 Championship.

In the final match against Indonesia, Dinh Bac touched the ball 32 times, successfully passed the ball 8/14 (57%), only touched the ball once in the penalty area of U23 Indonesia and did not successfully dribble the ball (0/2).

Indonesian U23 players surrounded Dinh Bac in a scuffle on the field (Photo: Getty).

Dinh Bac's statistics in the final match were not really impressive compared to the striker position, however, because coach Kim Sang Sik chose a defensive counter-attacking style of play, the entire match U23 Vietnam only had one shot on target. Therefore, it is easy to understand why Dinh Bac's statistics or the strikers' statistics are not really good.

The statistics do not fully reflect the role of strikers like Dinh Bac in supporting the defense, as well as holding the ball to counterattack to increase pressure on the opponent, as well as reduce pressure on the U23 Vietnam defense.

At the 2025 U23 Southeast Asia, Dinh Bac played in 4 matches, of which he started 3 matches, scoring 2 goals. Dinh Bac's title has gone down in the history of Vietnamese youth football when he became the first Vietnamese player to win the title of Best Player of the U23 Southeast Asia tournament.

At this year's tournament, the remaining individual awards include best goalkeeper: Muhammad Ardiansyah (Indonesia); Promising young player: Otu Abang Banatao (Philippines); Golden boot: Jens Raven (Indonesia).

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/dinh-bac-gianh-giai-cau-thu-hay-nhat-u23-dong-nam-a-2025-20250729234305794.htm