Nguyễn Tiến Linh

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Nguyễn. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Tiến Linh.

Nguyễn Tiến Linh (born 20 October 1997) is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a striker for V.League 1 club Becamex Bình Dương and the Vietnam national team.^[2] In 2021, Tiến Linh was nominated by a panel of sports journalists and football experts for Best Footballer in Asia.^[3] He is considered one of the best Vietnamese footballers of his generation. After the match against China in February 2022, he became the all-time leader for Vietnam in the World Cup qualifiers, passing Lê Công Vinh who had 7 goals.^[4]

Nguyễn Tiến Linh

Tiến Linh in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Nguyễn Tiến Linh
Date of birth	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Cẩm Giàng, Hải Dương, Vietnam
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Becamex Bình Dương
Number	22
Youth career
2009–2015	Becamex Bình Dương
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–	Becamex Bình Dương	179	(68)
International career‡
2015–2017	Vietnam U19	11	(5)
2018–2022	Vietnam U23	30	(12)
2018–	Vietnam	61	(25)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Vietnam ASEAN Championship Winner ASEAN 2018 Team Runner-up ASEAN 2022 Team Winner ASEAN 2024 Team SEA Games 2019 Philippines Team 2021 Vietnam Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2025

Early life

Nguyễn Tiến Linh was born and raised in the Cẩm Hoàng commune of the Cẩm Giang district, Hải Dương. At the age of 2, his mother moved to South Korea for work. At the age of 6, he followed his father to Bình Dương. His mother returned to Vietnam when he was 9 years old.^[5]

Tiến Linh began playing football for his school team. At the age of 13, he followed his PE teacher's advice and participated in the trial test of Becamex Bình Dương, in which he was later admitted to the club. At first, he played as midfielder, but then switched to striker.^[6]

Club career

Becamex Binh Duong U19

With 5 goals, Tiến Linh was the top scorer of Vietnamese National U-19 Football Championship.

Becamex Binh Duong

Tiến Linh made his first debut with Becamex Binh Duong in 2016.

Over 4 years, Tiến Linh scored 26 goals: 15 in 2018, 5 in 2020, and 6 in 2021 before the cancellation of the league due to Covid-19.^[7] Becamex Binh Duong won the Vietnamese National Football Super Cup and also placed second in the Vietnamese National Football Super Cup, also earning the Vietnamese Bronze Ball in 2021.^[8] In 2022, he earned the Vietnamese Silver Ball.

Tiến Linh won the Vietnamese Golden Ball award for the first time in 2024.^[9]

International career

2018: First Match for Vietnam and won AFF Championship

On 8 November 2018, Tiến Linh made his debut for the national team in the match against Laos. He scored his first goal for Vietnam against Cambodia in their last group match. At the end, Tiến Linh and Vietnam won 2018 AFF Championship.

2019-present

2022 World Cup qualification

On 15 October 2019, Tiến Linh scored his first goal in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification against Indonesia. A month later, he scored the only goal against UAE. In June 2021, he scored 3 goals in the last 3 matches of the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification to promote Vietnam to the third round. On 1 February 2022, he scored a goal in the match against China to surpass Le Cong Vinh as the top scorer for Vietnam in the history of World Cup qualification.^{[citation needed]}

2020 AFF Championship

In 2020 AFF Championship, he scored a brace in a 4–0 win against Cambodia, but his team lost in the semi-finals to Thailand.

2022 AFF Championship

Tiến Linh scored 6 goals in 2022 AFF Championship to share the top goalscorer award with Thai striker Teerasil Dangda, but Vietnam once again lost Thailand by 2-3 on aggregate in the finals.

2026 World Cup qualification

During the 2nd round, Tiến Linh scored two goals against the Philippines and was awarded the Player of the Match title. Vietnam however was eliminated of the World Cup.

2024 ASEAN Championship

Tiến Linh scored 4 goals in 2024 ASEAN Championship, contributed greatly to helping the Vietnam win the Southeast Asian championship for the third time.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 April 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Becamex Binh Duong	2016	V.League 1	15	2	4	1	1[a]	0	—		20	3
	2017		12	2	5	1	—		—		17	3
	2018		19	15	6	0	—		—		25	15
	2019		17	7	3	2	7[b]	1	1[c]	0	28	10
	2020		18	5	1	0	—		—		19	5
	2021		11	6	1	0	—		—		12	6
	2022		20	9	0	0	—		—		20	9
	2023		18	3	2	1	—		—		20	4
	2023–24		26	8	3	3	—		—		29	11
	2024–25		18	11	3	2	—		—		21	13
Total career			174	68	28	10	8	1	1	0	211	78

1. Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
2. Appearance(s) in AFC Cup
3. Appearance in Vietnamese Super Cup

International

As of match played 25 March 2025^[10]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National Team	Year	Apps	Goals
Vietnam	2018	5	2
	2019	7	2
	2021	16	7
	2022	7	3
	2023	9	4
	2024	13	7
	2025	4	0
Total		61	25

Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first. ^[10]

List of international goals scored by Nguyễn Tiến Linh

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 November 2018	Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Cambodia	1–0	3–0	2018 AFF Championship
2.	25 December 2018	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	North Korea	1–0	1–1	Friendly
3.	15 October 2019	Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Indonesia	Indonesia	3–0	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	14 November 2019	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	United Arab Emirates	1–0	1–0
5.	7 June 2021	Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Indonesia	1–0	4–0
6.	11 June 2021		Malaysia	1–0	2–1
7.	15 June 2021	Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	1–3	2–3
8.	7 October 2021	Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates	China	2–2	2–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	12 October 2021	Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman	Oman	1–0	1–3
10.	19 December 2021	Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore	Cambodia	1–0	4–0	2020 AFF Championship
11.				2–0
12.	1 February 2022	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	China	2–0	3–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.	21 December 2022	New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	Laos	1–0	6–0	2022 AFF Championship
14.	27 December 2022	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Malaysia	1–0	3–0
15.	3 January 2023		Myanmar	2–0	3–0
16.	9 January 2023		Indonesia	1–0	2–0
17.				2–0
18.	13 January 2023		Thailand	1–0	2–2
19.	6 June 2024		Philippines	1–1	3–2	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
20.				2–1
21.	10 September 2024		Thailand	1–0	1–2	2024 LPBank Cup
22.	9 December 2024	New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos	Laos	2–0	4–1	2024 ASEAN Championship
23.	21 December 2024	Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam	Myanmar	5–0	5–0
24.	26 December 2024	Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore	Singapore	1–0	2–0
25.	29 December 2024	Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam		3–1	3–1

Honours

Club

Becamex Bình Dương

• Vietnamese National Cup: 2018
• Vietnamese Super Cup: 2016

International

Vietnam

• ASEAN Championship: 2018, 2024

Vietnam U23

• SEA Games: 2019, 2021

Individual

• Vietnamese Golden Ball: 2024^[11]
• Vietnamese Silver Ball: 2022
• Vietnamese Bronze Ball: 2021
• ASEAN Championship Top scorer: 2022^[12]
• ASEAN Championship All-Star XI: 2022,^[13] 2024^[14]
• Third-class Labor Order: 2025^[15]