Nguyen Hoang Duc scores a hat-trick of Vietnamese Golden Ball awards in 2025.
Midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc officially won his third Golden Ball award, while Vietnamese football received high praise from the AFF after a brilliantly successful year.
The 2025 Vietnam Golden Ball Awards Gala honored Nguyen Hoang Duc in the most prestigious category. The midfielder, born in 1998, overcame strong competitors to win this title for the third time, affirming his irreplaceable position as a pillar of domestic football in recent years.
Following Hoàng Đức in this year's race are young striker Nguyễn Đình Bắc with the Silver Ball award and Nguyễn Quang Hải receiving the Bronze Ball. Đình Bắc's rise is considered a significant turning point by experts, as he has dispelled doubts to become a leading figure in the attack for youth national teams at all levels in 2025.
In the women's category, Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy impressively won the 2025 Golden Ball with a convincing 360 votes. She surpassed her teammate Hai Yen to claim the title, and also expressed her deep gratitude to coach Mai Duc Chung for his guidance throughout her career.
Regional recognition and a hat-trick of titles.
At the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Annual Congress held on the morning of December 26th, Mr. Winston Lee – Secretary General of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) – praised the development of Vietnamese football. Mr. Lee emphasized the unprecedented "hat-trick" of major titles Vietnam achieved in 2025, including the AFF Cup, the Southeast Asian U23 Championship, and the SEA Games.
The roadmap for Vietnam's U23 and U21 teams to reach continental level.
Alongside individual awards, the VFF also announced a strategic roadmap for the youth national teams. Specifically, the Vietnam U21 team will be tasked with participating in the 2026 ASIAD in Japan, followed by the 34th SEA Games and the Olympic Games. This is a bold step aimed at rejuvenating the squad and preparing a long-term foundation for the national team.
Currently, attention is focused on the Vietnam U23 team under the leadership of coach Kim Sang-sik. After a long flight from Hanoi, the entire team has arrived in Doha (Qatar) to begin the most important training camp for the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship.
Coach Kim Sang-sik expressed confidence in his players' ability to compete: "Before the SEA Games, the players played friendly matches against strong opponents like South Korea, China, and Uzbekistan and performed well. This gives us more confidence that the Vietnam U23 team is capable of playing well at this Asian tournament." Striker Nguyen Thanh Nhan also affirmed that the whole team will focus on each match to advance as far as possible in the tournament in Qatar.