Nguyễn Công Phượng (born 21 January 1995) is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a forward or an attacking midfielder for V.League 2 club Truong Tuoi Dong Nai and the Vietnam national team.
Công Phuợng is lauded as "Vietnamese Messi"[1][2] by fans and the media due to his playing style and physique, Công Phượng is one of the most promising football talents in Vietnam.[3] He is a product of HAGL - Arsenal JMG Academy and was promoted to Hoang Anh Gia Lai senior team in 2015. Công Phượng was voted in 2015 as the 'Best Young Player of the Year.[4] He has played in Belgium, South Korea and Japan.
Công Phượng was born on 21 January 1995 in Mỹ Sơn, Đô Lương District, Nghệ An Province. He is the fifth child out of 17 children of Nguyễn Công Bảy and Nguyễn Thị Hoa; his family was poor when he was growing up.[5]
Công Phượng has been interested in football since his childhood. Around the age of 5, he started to play football using a ball made of straw with his 2-year-older brother Nguyễn Công Khoa,[6] who later drowned in 2004 at the age of 9.[7]
Công Phượng first started his proper football training at the age of 10 when he was introduced to the Đô Lương district sport center by a local football coach Trương Quang Vinh.[8] In 2006, he played for the Đô Lương District youth team at Nghệ An province's football competition.[9] Impressed Song Lam Nghe An's staff at the competition, Công Phượng was invited into Sông Lam Nghệ An youth team but after a month of trial, he wasn't accepted because he didn't meet the weight requirement. Công Phượng's weight at that time was only 25.4 kg, while the minimum requirement was 30 kg and 27 kg for special cases.[10] In 2007, upon hearing the news about HAGL - Arsenal JMG Academy recruitment program, Công Phượng persuaded his parent to bring him to Pleiku, where HAGL - Arsenal JMG Academy based for the try-out. He was one of the only 14 candidates who was accepted in to the academy out of about 7 thousand candidates from all over the country in the first selection.[11]
In June 2010, Công Phượng and Nguyễn Tuấn Anh were the only two players from HAGL- Arsenal JMG Academy that were invited to a 15 days overseas training program in Cambodia. It was a training program for top players of JMG Academy from all over the globe.[12]
In November 2012, Công Phượng along with Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, Lương Xuân Trường, Trần Hữu Đông Triều were four of the players from the academy received the invitation to train with English Premier League side Arsenal under-17 team.[13] In the letter, Arsenal's performance supervisor, Steve Morrow stated that manager Arsène Wenger was impressed with the academy's players when they beat Oxford United under-17 team in January 2013.[14][15]
In winter 2014, HAGL - Arsenal JMG Academy team defeated Nepal U21 3-0 in the International U21 Thanh Niên Newspaper Cup final.[16] A double by Công Phượng secured the crown for his team.[16]
In 2015, Hoang Anh Gia Lai revolutionized their first team, the club released most of their players in the senior team, only a few players was kept to guide young player from the academy. Công Phượng was promoted to first team along with other academy's player from the first selection.[17] Công Phượng was given number 44 shirt instead of number 10 which he always wore when play for academy team and national U-19 team.[18]
Công Phượng made his V.League 1 debut on 4 January 2015 at the opening game of the season against Sanna Khanh Hoa. HAGL won this game 4-2 as Công Phượng scored a brace.[19] Công Phượng scored another brace at the eighth round against Dong Thap.[20] Công Phượng finished 2015 season with 6 goals in 25 appearances, he was club's leading goalscorer and had second most appearance.[21] On 6 January 2016, Công Phượng won the 2015 young player of the year award, beating his club mate Nguyễn Tuấn Anh who won it the previous year and Ha Noi player Đỗ Duy Mạnh.[22]
After one season in Japan, Công Phượng returned to HAGL to play in 2017 V.League. He scored 7 goals in that season.
2018 was one of his best season for HAGL. Công Phượng scored 12 goals at league and 4 goals at domestic cup.
Although his club just finished 11th at the end of season, Phượng was still selected in V.League's Team of the season by his performances.
Công Phượng returned to the club after his loan contract with Ho Chi Minh City get expired, followed by the arrival of the new coach Kiatisak Senamuang.
Phượng and HAGL was on fire that season, they were top of the table after 12 rounds, but the season was cancelled due to Covid-19. He had 6 goals after 12 matches in that campaign.
2022 was his last season at HAGL. On 19 April, Phượng got an assist in 1-1 draw against Sydney FC at 2022 AFC Champions League group stage. He just scored 5 goals in 24 matches, all of them were in the league.
In 2016, Công Phượng has been loaned to Mito HollyHock for $100,000 in the J2 League .[23][24] On 7 May 2016, Công Phượng made his debut for Mito HollyHock, coming on as a substitute in the 87-minute in a match against Giravanz Kitakyushu that ended 1-0.[25]
On 13 February 2019, he was loaned to K League 1 team Incheon United on a loan deal until the end of 2019 season.[26][27] He made the debut for the club in the 2-1 victory against Gyeongnam, came as a substitute in the extra time of the second half.[28]
On 1 June 2019, after just half season of the loan contract, he was released by Incheon United, which followed his desire.[29] After 14 rounds of 2019 K League 1, he only played 401 minutes among 8 games for the team, and didn't score any goal.
On 30 June 2019, a Japanese newspaper named Sponichi confirmed that Công Phượng was going to join Sint-Truiden on loan for 1 season.[30] He made his debut for Sint-Truiden, in the 0-6 defeat against Club Brugge on 2 August, coming on in the 70th minute. However, he was excluded permanently from the squad after this game. He was mainly used for the youth team, had played 5 games and scored 1 goal against Club Brugge U21 on 27 August 2019.[31]
After the failure half-season at STVV, Công Phượng returnted to Vietnam and played for Ho Chi Minh City, the runner-up of 2019 V.League 1, on another loan contract.[32]
Công Phượng scored his first goal for the club in 2020 AFC Cup group stage match against Myanmar club Yangon United on 11 February 2020.
Công Phượng had the first time playing a final match at the club level, against Hanoi at Vietnamese Super Cup. At the 20th minute, he surprised the audience by a long shot to bring an advantage to his club. But with a higher level of skills and experience, Hanoi quickly controlled the match and scored 2 goals to win the match.
On 17 June, he scored a goal and assisted another in a 3-0 victory against Viettel. He did the same against Than Quang Ninh on 11 July, also a 3-0 victory.
On 26 September, Công Phượng impressively scored a brace in the 5-1 victory against Nam Dinh, but later he got toe injured during the game which made him be almost absent for the rest of 2020 season.[33] He finally comeback in the club's last match of the season, against Becamex Bình Dương, coming as a substitute in 64th minute. In total, Công Phượng had 10 goals after 19 appearances during the loan spell at the Red Battle Ship.
On 25 December 2022, Công Phượng was officially announced as a new signing of newly promoted J1 League side Yokohama.[34][35] He made his debut for the club on 5 April 2023 when coming on as a substitute, a 2-3 loss against Nagoya Grampus in the J.League Cup.[36]
On 24 April 2024, he made his first start for the club in the 2024 J.League Cup fixture against Fagiano Okayama.
On 14 September 2024, he has decided to left the club after 2 years without much playing time.[37]
Following the departure from Yokohama, Công Phượng returned to Vietnam. There were rumours that he could join a V.League 2 club as the summer transfer market for Vietnamese player of 2024-25 V.League 1 has been closed.
On 21 September 2024, Phượng signed a 3-year contract with V.League 2 side Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc.[38] He scored the first goal for the club in the debut match on 19 October, against LPBank Ho Chi Minh City in a Vietnamese Cup game.[39] Công Phượng had a great start in Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc shirt with 5 goals after 6 matches, 4 in V.League 2 and 1 in the cup.
On 12 January 2025, he scored against his former club Hoang Anh Gia Lai when returned to Pleiku Stadium, in the Vietnamese Cup game. However, his side was eliminated when losing on penalties, after a 1-1 draw in official time. [40]
On 20 June, Phượng scored two free-kick goals in a game against Hoa Binh. Six days later, he scored another free-kick against Dong Thap and became the first Vietnamese footballer to scored three free-kick goals in two consecutive matches. [41]
Công Phượng was first called up to Vietnam U-19 team in September 2013 to participate in 2013 AFF U-19 Youth Championship. The team made it into the final with unbeaten run of five wins but eventually lost out to host nation Indonesia U-19 in the penalty shoot-out (7-6).[42] Công Phượng scored twice in this competition.
Công Phượng was the top goal scorer at the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification held in October 2013. He scored 7 goals which include a brace against Australia U-19,[43] the game ended with a shocking result of 5-1 win for U-19 Vietnam. His team finished at the top of the group with 9 points and qualified for the final tournament.
At the 2014 AFF U-19 Youth Championship in September 2014, Công Phượng scored a stunning solo goal against Australia U-19 right at the end of the game which help his team achieve a 1-0 victory. The goal was voted as goal of tournament;[44] this goal helped to raise Công Phượng's popularity even more. Công Phượng scored another goal in the game against U-19 Japan. His team made it into the final and ended up as runner up after lost the game 0-1 to Japan U-19.
Công Phượng captained his team at 2014 AFC U-19 Championship held in October 2014. They were put in a tough group with other Asia powerhouses, Japan U-19, South Korea U-19, and China U-19. His team failed to make it through the group stage with 2 losses and 1 draw. This is Công Phượng's last tournament with the U-19 side.[45]
In March 2015, Công Phượng represented Vietnam U-23 at 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification.[46] He scored 4 goals that helped the team to qualify for the final tournament in 2016.[47]
Công Phượng was a part of Vietnam's squad that played at 2015 SEA Games. His team won the bronze medal,[48] Công Phượng contributed 3 goals, one of which against Malaysia was voted as goal of the tournament.[49]
Công Phượng had a good individual performance at 2017 SEA Games by scoring 4 goals, but his team was unfortunately eliminated in the group stage.[50] He also missed the penalty in the crucial game against Thailand, which lost a good chance for his team to bounce back, when Vietnam was being led 0-2.[51]
Công Phượng scored 4 goals at 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification and one goal at 2018 AFC U-23 Championship against Iraq.[52] In this tournament, Công Phượng did a good job in his role as a "virtual striker" and helped Vietnam U-23 reach the final, which was a historic achievement of Vietnamese youth football in the continental level.[53]
Công Phượng was in the Vietnam Olympic's squad participating in 2018 Asian Games, where his team successfully achieved the fourth place. Công Phượng played relatively well in the tournament by scoring 2 goals, but he also missed many good chances to score more goal. He especially missed 2 penalties in the opening game against Pakistan.
Công Phượng made his debut for the senior national team as the substitution on 77th min at 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) game against Iraq on 8 October 2015. 5 days later, he once again came from the substitution, but played the whole second-half in the match against Thailand.
He scored the first goal for the national team in the 3-2 victory of the friendly match against Indonesia on 8 November 2016.
In 2016 AFF Championship, Công Phượng played 4 matches but just started 1 match, against Cambodia. Vietnam ended the tournament in semi-finals, when they lost to Indonesia.
Công Phượng was an important player of Vietnam squad at 2018 AFF Championship when he scored 3 goals including two in group stage, against Laos in the first match, Malaysia in the second match and one in the 2nd leg of semi-finals, against Philippines at Mỹ Đình National Stadium. In the finals, Vietnam defeated Malaysia to became champions after 10 years.[54]
Selected for the 2019 Asian Cup, Phượng scored 2 goals in the continental tournament. His first goal of the tournament in the first match against Iraq where he scored the second goal of Vietnam, although Vietnam were defeated 2-3. In the round of 16 on 20th January, Công Phượng had equalized against Jordan in the early second half, before Vietnam eliminated the Al-Nashama on penalty shoot-out; thus contributing to the very good course of the Golden Dragons, quarter finalists to everyone's surprise of the continental edition.[55]
Công Phượng scored the third goal in 4-0 victory against Indonesia in the second qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[56]
In the third qualifying round, he assisted Nguyễn Thanh Bình to lead against Japan, then the Japanese team equalized thanks to Maya Yoshida's goal. The game ended 1-1, which was a historical result of Vietnam against a giant of Asian football.[57]
In the 2020 AFF Championship, Phượng scored 2 goals. Vietnam ended the tournament in the semi-finals after losing to Thailand, tied for 3rd place with Singapore.
Before 2022 AFF Championship, he asked coach Park Hang-seo's permission not to attend the tournament.
On 11 September 2023, under new head coach Philippe Troussier, Công Phượng scored one goal in a friendly match against Palestine, which Vietnam won 2-0. This was his first goal for the national team after almost 2 years.
Công Phượng was not called up for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup because he didn't have much playing time at Yokohama in 2023 season.[58]
In March 2024, he was called up for 2 matches against Indonesia in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, but has been ruled out due to injury. He then was not called up by the new manager Kim Sang-sik for the 2024 ASEAN Championship.
On 22 May 2025, he was called up for the first time under Kim Sang-sik, for a match against Malaysia in 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification. This is his return for the national team after almost 2 years of absent.[59]
But on 3 June 2025, he was injured and had to leave Vietnam national football team.[60]
As of match played 27 June 2025[61] Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Hoang Anh Gia Lai 2015 V.League 1 25 6 2 0 — — 27 6 2017 26 7 1 0 — — 27 7 2018 24 12 4 4 — — 28 16 2021 12 6 0 0 — — 12 6 2022 16 5 2 0 6[a] 0 — 24 5 Total 103 36 9 4 6 0 0 0 118 40 Mito HollyHock (loan) 2016 J2 League 5 0 2 0 — — 7 0 Incheon United (loan) 2019 K League 1 8 0 1 0 — — 9 0 STVV Sint-Truidense (loan) 2019-20 Belgian Pro League 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0 Ho Chi Minh City (loan) 2020 V.League 1 12 6 2 1 4 2 1[c] 1 19 10 Yokohama 2023 J1 League 0 0 0 0 — 1[d] 0 1 0 2024 J2 League 0 0 0 0 — 2[d] 0 2 0 Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 Truong Tuoi Dong Nai 2024-25 V.League 2 14 7 2 2 — 1[e] 0 17 9 2025-26 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0 Total 14 7 2 2 0 0 1 0 17 9 Career total 143 49 16 7 10 2 5 1 174 59 Appearances and goals by national team and year National team Year Apps Goals Vietnam 2015 2 0 2016 7 1 2017 6 2 2018 9 3 2019 11 2 2021 13 3 2022 6 0 2023 2 1 Total 56 12 # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 10 September 2013 Gresik, Petrokimia Stadium Thailand 1-1 3-2 2013 AFF U-19 Youth Championship 2. 20 September 2013 Gresik, Petrokimia Stadium Laos 1-0 1-0 2013 AFF U-19 Youth Championship 3. 3 October 2013 Kuala Lumpur, KLFA Stadium Chinese Taipei 1-0 6-1 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification 4. 3-0 5. 4-0 6. 5 October 2013 Kuala Lumpur, KLFA Stadium Hong Kong 1-0 5-1 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification 7. 5-1 8. 7 October 2013 Kuala Lumpur, KLFA Stadium Australia 1-0 5-1 2014 AFC U-19 Championship qualification 9. 4-1 10. 9 August 2014 Bandar Seri Begawan, Track & Field Sports Complex Singapore 3-0 4-0 2014 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy 11. 13 August 2014 Bandar Seri Begawan, Track & Field Sports Complex Indonesia 3-0 4-0 2014 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy 12. 23 August 2014 Bandar Seri Begawan, Track & Field Sports Complex Myanmar 3-3 3-4 2014 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy 13. 5 September 2014 Hà Nội, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Australia 1-0 1-0 2014 AFF U-19 Youth Championship 14. 9 September 2014 Hà Nội, Mỹ Đình National Stadium Japan 2-3 2-3 2014 AFF U-19 Youth Championship # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 27 March 2015 Malaysia, Shah Alam Stadium Malaysia 2-1 2-1 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification 2. 31 March 2015 Malaysia, Shah Alam Stadium Macau 3-0 7-0 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification 3. 6-0 4. 7-0 5. 29 May 2015 Bishan, Bishan Stadium Brunei 5-0 6-0 2015 Southeast Asian Games 6. 2 June 2015 Bishan, Bishan Stadium Malaysia 2-0 5-1 2015 Southeast Asian Games 7. 4-0 8. 20 January 2016 Doha, Grand Hamad Stadium United Arab Emirates 1-0 2-3 2016 AFC U-23 Championship 9. 19 July 2017 Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Timor-Leste 2-0 4-0 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification 10. 3-0 11. 21 July 2017 Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium Macau 3-0 8-1 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification 12. 23 July 2017 Ho Chi Minh City, Thống Nhất Stadium South Korea 1-1 1-2 2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification 13. 15 August 2017 Selayang, MP Selayang Stadium Timor-Leste 4-0 4-0 2017 Southeast Asian Games 14. 17 August 2017 Shah Alam, Shah Alam Stadium Cambodia 1-0 4-1 2017 Southeast Asian Games 15. 3-0 16. 20 August 2017 Shah Alam, Shah Alam Stadium Philippines 1-0 4-0 2017 Southeast Asian Games 17. 9 December 2017 Buriram, Thailand Myanmar 4-0 4-0 2017 M-150 Cup 18. 15 December 2017 Thailand 1-0 2-1 19. 2-0 20. 20 January 2018 Changshu Stadium, Changshu, China Iraq 1-0 3-3 (5-3 pen.) 2018 AFC U-23 Championship 21. 3 August 2018 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hà Nội, Vietnam Palestine 2-1 2-1 Vinaphone Cup 2018 22. 14 August 2018 Cikarang, Indonesia Pakistan 3-0 3-0 2018 Asian Games 23. 23 August 2018 Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia Bahrain 1-0 1-0 2018 Asian Games Scores and results list Vietnam's goal tally first.[62] # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 8 November 2016 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam Indonesia 2-2 3-2 Friendly 2. 22 March 2017 Hàng Đẫy Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam Chinese Taipei 1-1 1-1 3. 10 October 2017 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam Cambodia 4-0 5-0 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification 4. 8 November 2018 New Laos National Stadium, Vientiane, Laos Laos 1-0 3-0 2018 AFF Championship 5. 16 November 2018 Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam Malaysia 1-0 2-0 6. 6 December 2018 Philippines 2-0 2-1 7. 8 January 2019 Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Iraq 2-1 2-3 2019 AFC Asian Cup 8. 20 January 2019 Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Jordan 1-1 1-1 (4-2 pen.) 2019 AFC Asian Cup 9. 7 June 2021 Indonesia 3-0 4-0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 10. 6 December 2021 Bishan Stadium, Bishan, Singapore Laos 1-0 2-0 2020 AFF Championship 11. 12 December 2021 Malaysia 2-0 3-0 12. 11 September 2023 Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định, Vietnam Palestine 1-0 2-0 FriendlyCông Phượng is the cousin of Nguyễn Thái Quốc Cường, who is also a professional footballer and currently plays for V.League 1 side Ho Chi Minh City.
He officially got married on 6 June 2020.[63]
The rumours that Công Phượng had fabricated his age to play in younger age football competition began to circulate soon after his team won the 2014 International U-21 Thanh Niên Newspaper Cup.[64] It started with the newspaper Thể Thao 24h published on 8 November 2014, three different documents showing three different date of birth of Công Phượng and an interview with a former Hoàng Anh Gia Lai F.C. youth team's player Bùi Văn Phúc said that both him and Công Phượng had their birth certificate redone, in his case it changed 1994 to 1996 and Công Phượng from 1993 to 1995.[65] Bùi Văn Phúc later denied the newspaper's claim but the newspaper affirmed they told the truth and have recording of the conversation that they were willing to show if necessary.
On 12 November, after two days working in Nghệ An Province, Vietnam Football Federation published Công Phượng's birth certificate that showed he was born on 21 January 1995.[66] On 16 November 2014, VTV Chuyển Động 24h broadcast a program pointing out problems with the birth certificate,[67] the program also published more documents to back up the claim that Công Phượng born in 1993 and asked Công Phượng to speak up.[68] On 17 November, in an interview with Người Lao Động newspaper, Công Phượng made no comment when asked about the accusation he said that he doesn't have permission from the club to answer.[69]
On 18 November, after investigating the matter, Đô Lương District's Justice Committee Division concluded that Công Phượng was born on 21 January 1995.[70] Nghệ An Province's Justice Department reached the same conclusion on 5 December.[71]
On 30 December, VTV was fined 15 million Vietnamese Dong and ordered to issue a public correction by the Ministry of Information and Communications for broadcasting wrongful information about Công Phượng's age,[72] the newspaper Thể Thao 24h was also fined 10 million Vietnamese Dong and ordered to issue a public correction.[73]
Vietnam
- AFF Championship: 2018
- VFF Cup: 2022
Vietnam U23
- VFF Cup: 2018
Individual
- Vietnamese Young Player of the Year: 2015
- Vietnamese Most favorite player: 2017, 2018
- V.League 1 Team of the Season: 2018, 2020
- V.League 2 Team of the Season: 2024-25
- Nguyễn Công Phượng at Soccerway
- Nguyễn Công Phượng at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Express official website
- Youtube - Nguyễn Công Phượng U-19 Goal skill
- Youtube - Nguyễn Công Phượng Goal skill
- Youtube - Nguyễn Công Phượng skill
- Youtube - Công Phượng AFC U-23 Championship Qualifier
