England’s World Soccer magazine has named Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai in its unranked list of 500 most important players on the planet.

England’s World Soccer magazine has named Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai in its unranked list of 500 most important players on the planet

Hai was the hero of the Vietnam national U23 team in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China in January. Hai scored five goals at the continental event to help Vietnam earn a silver medal for the first time in history.

Hai’s inclusion in the list showed the international media’s acknowledgement of Vietnam’s recent results, especially in the AFC event in China.

Besides Hai, the magazine named leading footballers such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez. –VNA