Dinh Bac is closing in on the race for the top scorer title at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - With the goal he scored against the UAE U23 team in the 3-2 victory on the evening of January 16th, striker Nguyen Dinh Bac is competing for the top scorer title at this year's Asian U23 Championship.

Vietnam U23 secured a thrilling victory against UAE U23, advancing to the semi-finals of the AFC U23 Asian Championship.

Currently, Dinh Bac has scored 3 goals in this year's tournament. He scored one goal in the U23 Vietnam vs. U23 Jordan match on January 6th, one goal in the win against U23 Saudi Arabia on January 12th, and one goal in the win against UAE on the night of January 16th.

Dinh Bac has scored 3 goals at the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship (Photo: AFC).

Dinh Bac's goal-scoring record is currently level with that of Shusuke Furuya and Ryunosuke Sato (both from the Japanese U23 team). He is only one goal behind Ali Azaizeh (Jordan U23) and Leonardo Farah Shahin (Lebanon).

Notably, both Ali Azaizeh and Leonardo Farah Shahin no longer have the opportunity to increase their goal tally at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, as the Jordan and Lebanon U23 teams have already been eliminated.

Leonardo Farah Shahin's Lebanon U23 team was eliminated after the group stage, while the Jordan U23 team was eliminated after the quarter-finals.

As for Dinh Bac, with his current excellent form, the striker of the Vietnam U23 team is expected to increase his goal tally in the upcoming matches of this year's tournament.

Dinh Bac scored with his right foot, left foot, and head (Photo: AFC).

Notably, the three goals Đình Bắc has scored so far reflect the diverse scoring ability of the striker currently playing for Hanoi Police FC. He scored with his right foot in the match against U23 Jordan, with his left foot in the match against U23 Saudi Arabia, and with his head in the match against U23 UAE.

In the history of the AFC U23 Asian Championship, no Vietnamese football player has ever become the top scorer of the tournament.

In 2018, Nguyen Quang Hai scored 5 goals (one against South Korea, one against Australia in the group stage, two against Qatar in the semi-finals, and one against Uzbekistan in the final), but he was still one goal behind the top scorer Almoez Ali (Qatar).

If Đình Bắc becomes the top scorer of this year's U23 Asian Championship, he will be the first Vietnamese football player to achieve this title.

Watch the entire 2026 AFC U23 Asian Championship Finals on TV360 at https://tv360.vn. Enjoy a smooth multi-platform experience, rewind and replay, and free Viettel 4G/5G data.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/dinh-bac-ap-sat-cuoc-dua-vua-pha-luoi-giai-u23-chau-a-2026-20260117040232874.htm