Nguyen Quang Hai, the Vietnam U-23 team standout, is the first Vietnamese player to ever make the list.
Alongside global superstars like Ronaldo and Messi, Hai recently appears in UK-based football magazine World Soccer’s annual 500 Most Important Players on the Planet issue, which was released this week.
The British publication does not seek to list the “best” players but instead pulls players from several categories that include players with impressive 2017-18 league play, those likely to have a large impact on their teams in the upcoming World Cup, those who made headlines for off-field activities and “young talents who have earned rave reviews in the past year.”
The asterisk indicates first-timers in the list.
21-year old Hai likely falls into that last group. He played a key role in the U-23 team’s stunning performance in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China back in January. As part of the eventual runner-up squad, the midfielder scored five goals including what fan’s considered the “Goal of the Tournament,” according to the competition’s official website.
Despite the potential to draw a big transfer price and compete in other Southeast Asian or even European leagues, Hai will remain in Vietnam for the time being at the Hanoi FC in the V-League.
[Top photo via Thanh Nien]
