Hai Long received special praise from FIFA and international media

(Dan Tri) - Midfielder Nguyen Hai Long played impressively to help the Southeast Asian All-Stars team win 1-0 against Man Utd on the evening of May 28 in Malaysia, surprising many major newspapers around the world.

Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang Sik, the Southeast Asian All-Stars team had a convincing 1-0 victory thanks to the only goal of Maung Maung Lwin (Myanmar). However, the player mentioned most in this match was the midfielder of the Vietnamese team, Nguyen Hai Long.

Hai Long dribbled the ball, escaping the siege of 2 Man Utd players (Photo: Khoa Nguyen).

The player currently playing for Hanoi FC only played the first 45 minutes but left a strong impression. The British Daily Mail emphasized, “There are no words to describe Nguyen Hai Long’s performance for Southeast Asian Stars. It is easy to see why he has 4 goals in 10 matches for the Vietnamese team.”

The American ESPN newspaper was also surprised by the performance of the midfielder of Hanoi FC. “Nguyen Hai Long of Vietnam caused a lot of trouble for Ayden Heaven in the first half. The Man Utd center back had a hard time keeping up with this small player.

Hai Long is a promising talent for the Vietnam national team and any club that owns him,” wrote ESPN.

In the 5th minute, Hai Long accelerated to eliminate Man Utd's central defender Ayden Heaven. However, in a face-to-face with goalkeeper Onana, the Hanoi FC midfielder's shot missed the post by a hair's breadth and the linesman also raised his flag for offside.

On the Man Utd homepage, the incident was called a wake-up call for the team. “Hai Long was the best player on the Southeast Asian All-Stars side in the first half. The incident at the beginning of the match woke up the sleepy Man Utd defense. Luckily, we were still in control of the situation.”

FIFA homepage praised the excellent performance of midfielder Nguyen Hai Long (Photo: FIFA).

After the Southeast Asian All-Stars' surprising victory over Man Utd, the FIFA Cup homepage also posted a picture of Hai Long with the 2024 AFF Cup Gold Medal with the caption: "I've never heard of him...", implying praise for the excellent performance of a small midfielder of the Vietnamese team.

This post quickly attracted thousands of likes and comments, most of which were congratulatory to midfielder Hai Long and the Southeast Asian All-Stars team.

Hai Long was the only Vietnamese player given the opportunity to start from the beginning by coach Kim Sang Sik. In 45 minutes on the field, he had at least 3 shots and continuously created trouble in front of Man Utd's goal.

The impressive performance of the midfielder of Hanoi FC will most likely help him become a strategic card of coach Kim Sang Sik in the confrontation with Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers taking place at Bukit Jalil on June 10.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hai-long-nhan-loi-khen-dac-biet-tu-fifa-va-truyen-thong-quoc-te-20250529003427719.htm