(VNF) - England’s World Soccer magazine has named Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai in its unranked list of 500 most important players on the planet.

Vietnamese football Nguyen Quang Hai greets the audience at the AFC U23 Championship. (Photo by VTV)

Hai, who plays for Hanoi FC, is the first Vietnamese player ever to make it onto the list, and stands aside legends such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez.

He was the hero of the Vietnam national U23 team in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China in January. Hai scored scored five goals during the championship to help Vietnam earn a silver medal for the first time in history, putting him in the spotlight as one of Vietnam’s top young talents. One of his show-stopping efforts in the final was voted Goal of the Championship on AFC’s official website back in February.

Nguyen Quang Hai’s strike from distance against Qatar in the AFC U23’s semi-final. (Source: bongda24h.vn)

Hai’s goal against Uzbekistan in the finals of the AFC U23 Championship was voted the best goal of the tournament by fans on the AFC website. Voters could choose between 10 goals scored during the AFC U23 tournament which finished in China on January 27^th, with Vietnam losing to Uzbekistan 2-1 after extra-time.

His inclusion in the list showed the international media’s acknowledgement of Vietnam’s recent results, especially in the AFC event in China./.

VNF