Dinh Bac joins the rare group of players who have achieved this feat for the Vietnam national team

In his first appearance at the 2026 ASEAN Cup, Dinh Bac delivered an impressive performance, netting a hat-trick to help Vietnam crush Timor-Leste 7-0 in the opening match of Group A.

The 2004-born striker's hat-trick not only secured a resounding win for coach Kim Sang-sik's side but also etched his name in Vietnamese football history as only the third player to score a hat-trick for the national team in the Southeast Asian Championship.

At Chonburi Stadium (Thailand), Dinh Bac constantly troubled the Timor-Leste defense with his speed, technique, and positioning. He opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a brilliant solo run and finish, doubled the lead before halftime, and completed his hat-trick in the 65th minute after an assist from Viet Anh. In addition to his three goals, the Cong An Ha Noi striker also set up Quang Hai to seal the 7-0 victory, making him the standout player of the match.

With this achievement, Dinh Bac joins the select group of Vietnam strikers who have scored at least three goals in a match at the Tiger Cup, AFF Cup, or ASEAN Cup. Before him, only two players had accomplished this: Le Cong Vinh and Phan Thanh Binh.

The first to set this milestone was Le Cong Vinh at the 2004 Tiger Cup. The Nghe An-born striker scored a hat-trick in Vietnam's 9-1 win over Cambodia, becoming the first Vietnamese player to achieve this in the Southeast Asian Championship. Three years later, at the 2007 AFF Cup, Cong Vinh repeated the feat with three goals against Laos in a 9-0 victory. To date, he remains the only Vietnamese player with two hat-tricks in the regional tournament.

In the same 9-0 win over Laos in 2007, Phan Thanh Binh went even further by scoring four goals. Though remembered for his poker, the Dong Thap-born forward naturally also earned a spot on the list of Vietnamese players with a hat-trick in this tournament. His four-goal performance remains the record for the most goals scored by a Vietnamese player in a single match in the history of the Southeast Asian Championship.

Nearly 19 years after Cong Vinh and Phan Thanh Binh's displays at the 2007 AFF Cup, Vietnamese football has finally witnessed another player complete a hat-trick in the regional arena. This makes Dinh Bac's achievement even more remarkable, especially since he did it in his very first ASEAN Cup appearance.

At just 22 years old, Dinh Bac is showing remarkable maturity and has become one of the biggest hopes for Vietnam's attacking line.