Vietnam’s Dinh Bac receives Asian U23 Golden Boot as late goal ruled out in V.League 1 win

The awards ceremony took place at Hang Day Stadium ahead of the match.

Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) president Tran Quoc Tuan handed the trophy to Dinh Bac, who finished as the top scorer at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia last month, netting four goals and providing two assists.

Vietnam finished third and won the bronze medal.

Tran Quoc Tuan, an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee member and chairman of its competitions committee, had earlier received the award on the player’s behalf while the team were traveling home.

Dinh Bac did not start Sunday’s match and was named on the bench.

He had only rejoined Cong An Ha Noi a few days earlier after returning to Vietnam on January 24 and attending a series of fan events.

He came on in the 75th minute. Eight minutes later, his shot found the net but was ruled out after a teammate was judged offside.

Cong An Ha Noi held on for a 3-2 victory.

The result lifted the club to the top of the V.League 1 standings after 12 rounds.