Shortly after the tournament concluded, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) opened fan voting for two categories: Most Impressive Player and Goal of the Tournament. Dinh Bac was the only player from Vietnam’s U23 squad nominated for both awards.

The vote for Most Impressive Player saw fierce competition. At one point, Li Hao of U23 China took a commanding lead with over 80% of the votes. Meanwhile, Xiang Yuwang - also from China - dominated the Goal of the Tournament category with a staggering 90% share.

However, Dinh Bac made a remarkable late comeback. As announced by the AFC on January 30, the Vietnamese striker surged ahead to win 86.71% of the vote. Li Hao dropped to second place with 10.44%, while Jordan’s Azaizeh came third with 2.48%.

Voting for the Goal of the Tournament is still ongoing. If there are no last-minute changes, Dinh Bac’s stunning back-header in Vietnam’s victory over U23 UAE is expected to win the title.

Previously, Dinh Bac won the Goal of the Group Stage award for his strike against U23 Saudi Arabia. Most notably, he also made history by becoming the tournament’s top scorer with four goals - marking a first for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian football.

Dai Nam