The preliminary list of 50 players of the Vietnam national team preparing to participate in the ASEAN Cup 2024 (formerly known as the AFF Cup) includes naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son. This list was sent by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF).
AFF is the unit that will decide whether Nguyen Xuan Son is qualified to join the Vietnamese team to participate in the ASEAN Cup or not.
According to FIFA regulations, Rafaelson still has to wait until January 2025 to officially play for the Vietnam team. He needs to live continuously in Vietnam for 5 years because he is 100% Brazilian and has no Vietnamese blood.
However, VFF is still trying to prove the legal status of the Brazilian striker. Xuan Son actually came to Vietnam in 2019, not January 2020. Xuan Son can prove that he came to Vietnam through a labor contract or an invitation letter from a football team (players need this document to complete entry procedures).
Nguyen Xuan Son, born in 1997 in Brazil. The striker of the Nam Dinh Steel Club is currently the top striker in the V.League.
In the 2023-2024 season, he played explosively, making history as the player who scored the most goals in a V.League season with 31 goals. Xuan Son and Nam Dinh Blue Steel won the V.League championship, won the Golden Boot title and was included in the typical squad of the season.
By the 2024-2025 season, after a difficult start, Xuan Son is gradually regaining his scoring form when he continuously scored for Nam Dinh in the past rounds.
