| Nguyễn Tiến Linh | |
| Fullname: | Nguyễn Tiến Linh |
| Birth Date: | 1997 10, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Cẩm Giàng, Hải Dương, Vietnam |
| Height: | 1.81 m[1] |
| Currentclub: | Becamex Bình Dương |
| Clubnumber: | 22 |
| Position: | Striker |
| Youthyears1: | 2009–2015 |
| Youthclubs1: | Becamex Bình Dương |
| Years1: | 2016– |
| Clubs1: | Becamex Bình Dương |
| Caps1: | 156 |
| Goals1: | 57 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2015–2017 |
| Nationalteam1: | Vietnam U19 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 11 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 5 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2018–2022 |
| Nationalteam2: | Vietnam U23 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 30 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 12 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2018– |
| Nationalteam3: | Vietnam |
| Nationalcaps3: | 46 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 20 |
| Club-Update: | 30 June 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 11 June 2024 |
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. In 2021, Tiến Linh was nominated by a panel of sports journalists and football experts for Best Footballer in Asia.[2] 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.[3]
Nguyễn Tiến Linh was born and raised in the Cam Hoang commune of the Cam Giang district, Hai Duong. At the age of 2, his mother moved to South Korea for work. At the age of 6, he followed his father to Binh Duong. His mother returned to Vietnam when he was 9 years old. Currently, his family owns a football theme coffee shop in the city of Thuận An.[4]
With 5 goals, Tiến Linh was the top scorer of Vietnamese National U-19 Football Championship.
Tiến Linh made his first debut with Becamex Binh Duong in 2016.
Over 4 years, Tiến Linh scored 26 goals, with fifteen in 2018, five in 2020, and six in 2021 before the cancellation of V.League 1.[5] 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 2022.[6]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| 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 | 0 | — | 20 | 3 | ||
| 2017 | V.League 1 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 3 | ||||
| 2018 | V.League 1 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 15 | ||||
| 2019 | V.League 1 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 | ||
| 2020 | V.League 1 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 5 | ||||
| 2021 | V.League 1 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 6 | ||||
| 2022 | V.League 1 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 9 | ||||
| 2023 | V.League 1 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||||
| 2023-24 | V.League 1 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 29 | 11 | ||||
| Total career | 156 | 57 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 190 | 66 | |||
As of match played 11 June 2024[7]
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals | +Appearances and goals by national team and year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | 2018 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2021 | 15 | 7 | ||
| 2022 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 2023 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2024 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Total | 46 | 20 | ||
| 1. | 24 November 2018 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2018 AFF Championship | ||
| 2. | 25 December 2018 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 3. | 15 October 2019 | Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Indonesia | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 4. | 14 November 2019 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 5. | 7 June 2021 | 1–0 | 4–0 | |||
| 6. | 11 June 2021 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||
| 7. | 15 June 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 1–3 | 2–3 | ||
| 8. | 7 October 2021 | Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 9. | 12 October 2021 | 1–0 | 1–3 | |||
| 10. | 19 December 2021 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2020 AFF Championship | ||
| 11. | 2–0 | |||||
| 12. | 1 February 2022 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 13. | 21 December 2022 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2022 AFF Championship | ||
| 14. | 27 December 2022 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 15. | 3 January 2023 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |||
| 16. | 9 January 2023 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 17. | 2–0 | |||||
| 18. | 13 January 2023 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |||
| 19. | 6 June 2024 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 20. | 2–1 | |||||
Becamex Binh Duong
2016
Vietnam
2018Vietnam U23
2022
2021