Only scoring a goal all year, Van Toan was the best in the match Vietnam won against the Philippines

Nguyen Van Toan was one of two players to score in the 2-0 victory over the Philippines in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. It took the striker from Hai Duong 330 days to score again.

Before the match against the Philippines, the last time Van Toan scored was against the Laos team at the AFF Cup 2022. After that, he left HAGL to move to Seoul E-Land but was unsuccessful in the Korean league. Returning to V.League in the shirt of Nam Dinh Club, Van Toan has not scored yet.

Philippines 0-2 Vietnam

Up to now, the former HAGL striker has only scored 4 goals for the Vietnamese national team. However, under coach Philippe Troussier, Van Toan has begun to make his mark. In the friendly match against Palestine in September, Van Toan assisted Tuan Hai to score in the victory of the Vietnamese national team.

With his goal against the Philippines tonight, Van Toan was voted the best player of the match. According to Flashscore, Van Toan also had the highest score on the field (6.8 points). This is also the score that striker Nguyen Dinh Bac received. Both players were the ones who scored.

Unfortunately for Van Toan, he could not play the entire match. The striker was injured in the 80th minute after colliding with defender Tabinas Jefferson. The striker, born in 1996, left the field on a stretcher.

The extent of Van Toan's injury is unknown, but if he is absent from the next match, it will be a big loss for the Vietnamese team.

The moment Van Toan scored to relieve the pressure. (Photo: Nam Dinh Club)

At the press conference, Van Toan shared: "I can't say exactly about the injury, I still feel pain in my ribs, I will check again when I return. Hopefully everything will be fine."

Evaluating the match, Van Toan said: "In the first match, we had to play on artificial turf which was extremely difficult. The whole team played well. I am very proud to have scored for the Vietnamese team.

In the past 8 months, we have played with a new philosophy, a new coach, all the players have tried to follow that philosophy. This is not a great achievement but it is the first result in the process of 8 months. In the upcoming match against Iraq, we will try to get points against this opponent ."

Coach Philippe Troussier and his team will return to My Dinh Stadium to host the Iraqi team on November 21.