Pham Tuan Hai has a bright chance to win the Vietnamese Golden Ball

Hanoi FC did not play well and were eliminated right after the group stage, but the AFC Champions League 2023 is still a memorable tournament for Pham Tuan Hai personally. He was the player who scored the decisive goal to help the capital team defeat defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds, causing the Japanese representative to be eliminated.

At the end of the Asian Cup, Tuan Hai had 4 goals and 1 assist, bringing 6 points directly to Hanoi FC. Tuan Hai's scoring record was better than Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr).

The striker born in 1998 became the second Vietnamese player to score 4 goals in an AFC Champions League season. Over the past 20 years, the only compatriot of Tuan Hai to do this is Nguyen Anh Duc.

His form at the AFC Champions League 2023/24 plus his consistent performance throughout the year gives Tuan Hai an advantage in the competition for the 2023 Vietnam Golden Ball award. The list of nominees for the best male player category does not have any other players who have made a prominent mark, surpassing their competitors.

The Vietnamese team only played 6 friendly matches and 2 official matches in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. This is not a suitable frame of reference to compare the overall performance of the stars.

However, even in terms of performance in the national team, Tuan Hai is still better than Hoang Duc, Tuan Anh... This striker is an important factor of the Vietnamese team under coach Troussier. He has 2 goals for the national team, accounting for 1/3 of the team's total goals in 2023.

Club level matches will provide more data. Some stars like Quang Hai, Tan Tai, Van Hau, Van Thanh won the V.League but in reality they did not play outstandingly. Although this group of players contributed to the overall play, it cannot be said that it was not up to the expectations.

At the club alone, other notable names such as Nguyen Tuan Anh, Do Hung Dung, Bui Hoang Viet Anh, Dang Van Lam and Nguyen Tien Linh all played below par.

Vietnam Silver Ball 2022 Nguyen Tien Linh played poorly, struggling with the relegation race with Binh Duong Club. Nguyen Hai Huy, Lam Ti Phong or Tran Nguyen Manh played well but did not have enough highlights to gain an advantage, nor did they have a place in the national team.

Tuan Hai's competitor for the Golden Ball is probably Nguyen Hoang Duc. In terms of statistics, Hoang Duc and Tuan Hai both scored 6 goals in the 2023 season. Hoang Duc assisted his teammates 6 times - 1 more than Tuan Hai.

However, Tuan Hai started the 2023/24 season better than Hoang Duc thanks to the AFC Champions League. Impressive in the Asian Cup C1 will bring opportunities for the Hanoi FC striker. The race for the 2023 Vietnam Golden Ball could witness a turning point from the victories of the Capital team.