Dinh Bac scores a masterpiece, fans in Nghe An province erupt in excitement.

True to the nature of a quarter-final match, both Vietnam U23 and UAE U23 adopted a cautious style of play, resulting in few created opportunities. In this kind of game, moments of brilliance from a star player always make a difference. Coming on as a substitute for the injured Viktor Le, Dinh Bac quickly scored with a cross that set up teammate Le Phat for the opening goal in the 39th minute, giving Vietnam U23 the lead. However, just three minutes later, taking advantage of his superior height, Junior Ndiaye rose high to head in the equalizer for UAE U23. The score remained 1-1 until the end of the first half.

In the second half, a similar pattern of play unfolded between the two teams. In the 62nd minute, a moment of genius from Nguyen Dinh Bac gave the Vietnam U23 team the lead. From a perfectly placed pass by Minh Phuc on the right wing, Dinh Bac headed the ball in with his back to the UAE U23 goal, creating an unbelievable "masterpiece" that put Vietnam U23 ahead for the second time.

This goal deserves to be considered the most beautiful goal of the tournament, and it reminds us of the classic backward header by another striker from Nghe An, Le Cong Vinh, which helped the Vietnamese national team win the Southeast Asian championship for the first time in 2008. Nguyen Dinh Bac's goal caused an explosion of excitement among fans nationwide, as well as those from Nghe An.

Mr. Tran Xuan Ba, a fan from Thanh Vinh ward, excitedly said:"That's fantastic, player Dinh Bac! He's been playing so well in recent matches. As someone from Nghe An, I'm very proud of what Dinh Bac has shown while wearing the Vietnam U23 team jersey."

Unfortunately, just a few minutes later, Mansoor Al Menhali's height advantage once again helped him leap high and head the ball into the net, equalizing the score at 2-2 for UAE U23 against Vietnam U23. The drama of the match unfolded in the first half of extra time, when Minh Phuc quickly scored a powerful goal to seal the 3-2 victory, sending Vietnam U23 into the semi-finals. Even without playing the full 90 minutes, Nguyen Dinh Bac was the standout player on the field in Vietnam U23's breathtaking victory over UAE U23 in the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. Amidst the shared joy, football fans in Nghe An province were even more proud of the outstanding performance of the 2004-born striker; he fully deserved the Man of the Match award.

After the match, even though it was well past midnight and the weather was chilly, a large number of fans still poured into the streets to celebrate. Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, along with his daughter, also enthusiastically joined the celebration in a civilized manner. He said:The Vietnam U23 team played brilliantly, we always support the Vietnam U23 team and especially player Dinh Bac. I went out to celebrate with my son, but we completely obeyed traffic laws..

After 4 matches in the tournament, Nguyen Dinh Bac has scored 3 goals and provided 1 assist, including 2 spectacular goals, one against the host team and one against UAE. These numbers speak for themselves, but the greater value lies in the sense of security that Nguyen Dinh Bac brings to the fans; the Vietnam U23 team always has a reliable player to rely on for moments of brilliance.

Immediately after the match ended, a festive atmosphere was created by the fans, even though it was well past midnight. The people of Nghe An, already famous for their passionate love of football, now have even more reason to be proud because Dinh Bac is a son of this land of "exceptional people and rich history."