On the evening of August 19, the Vietnamese team won 2-0 against Malaysia in the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semi-final. Notably, both goals of the Vietnamese team came from a goal by Nguyen Xuan Son.
The player born in 1997 was brought on from the 58th minute, replacing Hai Long. Just 5 minutes later, he had a good tap-in after Tien Anh's missed shot to open the score of the match.
In the 89th minute, Xuan Son continued to impress with a sprint and narrow-angle shot that defeated the Malaysian goalkeeper to seal a 2-0 victory.
This result helped the Vietnamese team officially enter the ASEAN Cup 2026 final after defeating Malaysia with a total score of 4-0. This achievement once again helped Xuan Son win the title of Best Player.
Previously, in the first leg, Xuan Son also scored 1 goal, contributing to helping Vietnam defeat Malaysia 2-0, and also bringing home the title of Man of the Match.
After the match, Xuan Son shared: "I just want to contribute with my teammates and help the team win, whether the coach wants me to play 30 minutes or 60 minutes.
In the final, the coaching staff will develop tactical plans, my task is to follow them. This will be the big final. I will prepare well and I want to win the championship once again".
Up to this point, Xuan Son has scored 5 goals since the beginning of the tournament, along with Dinh Bac (5 goals) who is leading the scoring list at ASEAN Cup 2026. If he continues to score in the next 2 finals, it is very likely that the 29-year-old striker will win the top scorer title of the Southeast Asian tournament for the 2nd consecutive time.
