At the age of 23, Đình Bắc...

... he has almost everything. From individual honors such as the Vietnam Silver Ball 2025, the top scorer of the AFC U23 Asian Cup, or the Best Player of ASEAN U23..., to collective titles, the pinnacle being the V-League championship, the National Cup, and the Super Cup...

Đình Bắc is one of the rare players under 23 years old to be included in the national team squad for the 2026 ASEAN Cup. He is among the standout young talents of Vietnamese football over the past 3-4 years, and they deserve recognition. However, the difficulties this young player faces when stepping up to the national team and playing in high-intensity matches are evident, most recently in the goalless draw against Singapore.

Looking back, at the age of 23, before Đình Bắc, there were Hoàng Đức, Quang Hải; even earlier, Văn Quyết, Thành Lương, and further back, Công Vinh, Văn Quyến... all of whom were recipients of the Vietnam Golden Ball at a very young age. Đình Bắc has already won the Silver Ball as mentioned, and many believe that if he delivers a reasonable performance to help Vietnam successfully defend the 2026 ASEAN Cup title, the Golden Ball award will surely be his.

It should be noted that Đình Bắc played exceptionally well at the AFC U23 Asian Cup earlier this year and underwent a remarkable transformation during the second half of the 2025/2026 V-League season.

In the opening match against Timor Leste, Đình Bắc opened his account with a hat-trick. This is a rare feat for a Vietnamese player under 23 in the Southeast Asian championship. However, Bắc seemed to have become overly excited after the praise from social media. He deliberately broke the principles of an attacking player's conversion as well as the team's operational structure: when he should pass, he dribbled or shot; when he should theoretically shoot at goal, he showed off instead...

Coach Kim Sang Sik was completely unsatisfied and had to pull him off the field at the 41st minute of the match against Singapore at My Dinh Stadium, even though Bắc signaled to stay. Although we later still drew with Singapore and were pushed into a difficult position before heading to Indonesia, the team's operational structure and discipline must be maintained.

Đình Bắc has thrown his opportunity out the window, and it seems unlikely that he will regain his position in the national team for the 2026 ASEAN Cup campaign. This is not an unfounded assessment given what has happened.

Returning to the Vietnamese national team. Basically, we played a decent match against Singapore; the issue was scoring goals. When Singapore concentrated a large number of players in and around the penalty area, the finishing attempts from the Vietnamese attack were noticeably off-target. It was precisely this disciplined style of play that helped Singapore hold Vietnam to a draw, making the race for the next round a tight contest between Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia. Our disadvantage is clear.

From a position of control, we have now become reactive, but the opportunity remains for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team. The Vietnamese national team truly struggled against an opponent that played disciplined and proactive defense like Singapore. They, as we have done before, when stepping onto the continental or higher stage, do what is necessary to get the result. Coach Kim Sang Sik needs to find the solution right on Indonesian soil, otherwise...

For a team, collectivism must always be placed above all, along with discipline. No matter how outstanding an individual is, they cannot stand above the collective. Đình Bắc, or any young player, must internalize this. No exceptions! Fortunately for Bắc, this is not a training period!

We are in the middle of the campaign, and what is essential now is to focus on the goal set by the football community.