# Nguyễn 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. In 2021, Tiến Linh was nominated by a panel of sports journalists and football experts for Best Footballer in Asia. 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.

## 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.
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.

## 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. 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. In 2022, he earned the Vietnamese Silver Ball.
Tiến Linh won the Vietnamese Golden Ball award for the first time in 2024.

## 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.

#### 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 8 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | 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 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2017 | V.League 1 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 3 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2018 | V.League 1 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 15 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2019 | V.League 1 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2020 | V.League 1 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 5 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2021 | V.League 1 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 6 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2022 | V.League 1 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 9 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2023 | V.League 1 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 4 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2023–24 | V.League 1 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 11 |
| Becamex Binh Duong | 2024–25 | V.League 1 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 11 |
| Total career | Total career | Total career | 172 | 67 | 27 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 208 | 77 |
* ↑ Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
* ↑ Appearance(s) in AFC Cup
* ↑ Appearance in Vietnamese Super Cup

### International

As of match played 5 January 2025
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first.
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 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5. | 7 June 2021 | Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Indonesia | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6. | 11 June 2021 | Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Malaysia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7. | 15 June 2021 | Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 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 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10. | 19 December 2021 | Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore | Cambodia | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2020 AFF Championship |
| 11. | 19 December 2021 | Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore | Cambodia | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2020 AFF Championship |
| 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 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 15. | 3 January 2023 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Myanmar | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 16. | 9 January 2023 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Indonesia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 17. | 9 January 2023 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Indonesia | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 18. | 13 January 2023 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Thailand | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 19. | 6 June 2024 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Philippines | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 20. | 6 June 2024 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | Philippines | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 21. | 10 September 2024 | Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam | 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 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 24. | 26 December 2024 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore | Singapore | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 25. | 29 December 2024 | Việt Trì Stadium, Việt Trì, Vietnam | Singapore | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |

## 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
* Vietnamese Silver Ball: 2022
* Vietnamese Bronze Ball: 2021
* ASEAN Championship Top scorer: 2022
* ASEAN Championship All-Star XI: 2022, 2024
* Third-class Labor Order: 2025