Nguyễn Tiến Linh (born 20 October 1997) is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a striker for V.League 1 club Becamex Bình Dương and the Vietnam national team.[2] In 2021, Tiến Linh was nominated by a panel of sports journalists and football experts for Best Footballer in Asia.[3] He is considered one of the best Vietnamese footballers of his generation. After the match against China in February 2022, he became the all-time leader for Vietnam in the World Cup qualifiers, passing Lê Công Vinh who had 7 goals.[4]
.png) Tiến Linh in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nguyễn Tiến Linh | ||
| Date of birth | 20 October 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Cẩm Giàng, Hải Dương, Vietnam | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Becamex Bình Dương | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2015 | Becamex Bình Dương | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016– | Becamex Bình Dương | 145 | (53) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2017 | Vietnam U19 | 11 | (5) |
| 2018–2022 | Vietnam U23 | 30 | (12) |
| 2018– | Vietnam | 44 | (18) |
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 March 2024 | |||
Early life
Nguyễn Tiến Linh was born and raised in the Cam Hoang commune of the Cam Giang district, Hai Duong. At the age of 2, his mother moved to South Korea for work. At the age of 6, he followed his father to Binh Duong. His mother returned to Vietnam when he was 9 years old. Currently, his family owns a football theme coffee shop in the city of Thuận An.[5]
Club career
Becamex Binh Duong U19
2015
With 5 goals, Tiến Linh was the top scorer of Vietnamese National U-19 Football Championship.
Becamex Binh Duong
2016–present
Tiến Linh made his first debut with Becamex Binh Duong in 2016.
Over 4 years, Tiến Linh scored 26 goals, with fifteen in 2018, five in 2020, and six in 2021 before the cancellation of V.League 1.[6] Becamex Binh Duong won the Vietnamese National Football Super Cup and also placed second in the Vietnamese National Football Super Cup, also earning the Vietnamese Bronze Ball in 2022.[7]
International career
2018: First Match for Vietnam and won AFF Championship
On 8 November 2018, Tiến Linh made his debut for the national team in the match against Laos. He scored his first goal for Vietnam against Cambodia in their last group match. At the end, Tiến Linh and Vietnam won 2018 AFF Championship.
2019-present
2022 World Cup qualification
On 15 October 2019, Tiến Linh scored his first goal in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification against Indonesia. A month later, he scored the only goal against UAE. In June 2021, he scored 3 goals in the last 3 matches of the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification to promote Vietnam to the third round. On 1 February 2022, he scored a goal in the match against China to surpass Le Cong Vinh as the top scorer for Vietnam in the history of World Cup qualification.[citation needed]
2020 AFF Championship
In 2020 AFF Championship, he scored a brace in a 4–0 win against Cambodia, but his team lost in the semi-finals to Thailand.
2022 AFF Championship
Tiến Linh scored 6 goals in 2022 AFF Championship to share the top goalscorer award with Thai striker Teerasil Dangda, but Vietnam once again lost Thailand by 2-3 on aggregate in the finals.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 April 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2016 | V.League 1 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 20 | 3 | |
| 2017 | V.League 1 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 3 | |||
| 2018 | V.League 1 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 15 | |||
| 2019 | V.League 1 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7[b] | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | 28 | 10 | |
| 2020 | V.League 1 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 5 | |||
| 2021 | V.League 1 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 6 | |||
| 2022 | V.League 1 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 9 | |||
| 2023 | V.League 1 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 4 | |||
| 2023-24 | V.League 1 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 17 | 6 | |||
| Total career | 145 | 53 | 24 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 178 | 61 | ||
International
- As of match played 26 March 2024
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | 2018 | 5 | 2 |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 15 | 7 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 45 | 18 | |
International goals
Vietnam U-23
- Scores and results list U23 Vietnam's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 7 June 2019 | Phu Tho, Vietnam |  Myanmar | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 8 September 2019 | Wuhan, China |  China | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 3. | 2–0 | |||||
| 4. | 28 November 2019 | Biñan, Laguna, Philippines |  Laos | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2019 Southeast Asian Games |
| 5. | 2–0 | |||||
| 6. | 3–0 | |||||
| 7. | 5 December 2019 | Biñan, Laguna, Philippines |  Thailand | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2019 Southeast Asian Games |
| 8. | 2–2 | |||||
| 9. | 7 December 2019 | Manila, Philippines |  Cambodia | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2019 Southeast Asian Games |
| 10. | 16 January 2020 | Bangkok, Thailand |  North Korea | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2020 AFC U-23 Championship |
| 11. | 6 May 2022 | Phu Tho, Vietnam |  Indonesia | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2021 Southeast Asian Games |
| 12. | 19 May 2022 | Phu Tho, Vietnam |  Malaysia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2021 Southeast Asian Games |
Vietnam
- Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first.[8]
| No. | Cap. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2 | 24 November 2018 | Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Cambodia | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2018 AFF Championship |
| 2. | 5 | 25 December 2018 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | North Korea | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3. | 10 | 15 October 2019 | Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Indonesia | Indonesia | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 11 | 14 November 2019 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam |  United Arab Emirates | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 5. | 13 | 7 June 2021 | Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Indonesia | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 6. | 14 | 11 June 2021 | Malaysia | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 7. | 15 | 15 June 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 1–3 | 2–3 | |
| 8. | 18 | 7 October 2021 | Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | China | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9. | 19 | 12 October 2021 | Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman |  Oman | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| 10. | 25 | 19 December 2021 | Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore | Cambodia | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2020 AFF Championship |
| 11. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 12. | 28 | 1 February 2022 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | China | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13. | 32 | 21 December 2022 | New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos | Laos | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 14. | 33 | 27 December 2022 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Malaysia | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| 15. | 35 | 3 January 2023 | Myanmar | 2–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 16. | 37 | 9 January 2023 | Indonesia | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 17. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 18. | 38 | 13 January 2023 | Thailand | 1–0 | 2–2 |
Honours
Club
Becamex Binh Duong
International
Vietnam
Vietnam U23
- Southeast Asian Games (2): 2019, 2021
Individual
- Vietnamese Silver Ball: 2022
- Vietnamese Bronze Ball: 2021
- AFF Championship Top scorer: 2022
- AFF Championship Best XI: 2022[9]
Record
- Most Goals In FIFA World Cup qualification in the history of Vietnam national football team: 8 Goals