Quang Hai scored and assisted in his first match for Pau FC

Quang Hai in his first training session with Pau FC on June 30. Photo:PauFC

After a week of training with Pau FC, Quang Hai and his teammates took to the field for their first friendly match in preparation for the new season, against Landes in the Dax district. The new player from Vietnam was chosen by coach Didier Tholot to start in his preferred position of right midfielder. Quang Hai's highlight was a curling effort in the penalty area to make it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, seven minutes after striker Mons Bassouamina opened the scoring. He also contributed to the third goal with a header that created a situation for midfielder Paul Meliande to score.

Coach Tholot also assigned Quang Hai to take free kicks. However, none of the three free kicks he took in the first half led to a goal. Not only actively participating in the attack, Quang Hai also moved continuously to compete and support the defense.

At the end of the first half, Quang Hai left the field. Coach Didier Tholot wanted to give every player a chance to show their skills in this match, so each player only played 45 minutes. Against a weak opponent playing in the sixth-tier league, Pau FC scored two more goals in the second half to easily win 5-0.

Quang Hai was on the list of goalscorers for Pau FC yesterday.

Quang Hai passed the medical examination and became a player of Pau FC on June 29. His contract with the team playing in the French second division is for two years. After a week of training with his teammates, Quang Hai said he adapted well and had no difficulties with his playing style or mentality. His teammates also assessed that the player from Vietnam has good technique and a good mindset for playing football.

Pau FC will continue their tour in the Tarbes district, Hautes-Pyrénées province. The team will play a friendly against Ligue 1 newcomer Toulouse there on July 12. After that, Tholot's team will play lower-division clubs Angoulême Charente and Chamois Niortais on July 15 and July 23. The team will play their first match in Ligue 2 on July 30, against hosts Guingamp.

Quang Hai was born on April 12, 1997 in Dong Anh, Hanoi. He grew up at the Hanoi training center from 2007 to 2015, and was nicknamed "King of Youth Leagues". Quang Hai played for the first team from 2016 to 2022, scoring 35 goals in 126 matches, contributing greatly to helping the team win the V-League three times. In the national team, he was also the "conductor" helping Vietnam reach the U23 Asian final, the Asiad semi-finals, win the AFF Cup 2018, enter the Top 8 Asian Cup, win the SEA Games 2019 gold medal and enter the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup.