Chinese media speaks out, directly addressing the current performance of Dinh Bac

After bursting onto the scene in continental youth tournaments, Nguyen Dinh Bac is experiencing a difficult phase in V.League, having not scored in 13 matches, drawing particular attention from Chinese media.

The dazzling brilliance in the colors of national youth teams is inversely proportional to Nguyen Dinh Bac's performance on the domestic stage. China's 163 recently published a detailed analysis of the astonishing decline of the striker born in 2004 under the headline: “The Asian U23 top scorer has not scored in 13 consecutive matches since returning to the Vietnamese championship”.

The article emphasizes that this is a stark contrast, quickly becoming a hot topic of discussion among fans and regional media.

The actual statistics present an extremely harsh challenge for this young talent. Since joining Hanoi Police in V.League, Dinh Bac has accumulated 1004 minutes on the pitch but still hasn't found the opponent's net.

According to analysis by 163, this is truly a "paradox" when considering what he achieved on the continental stage. At the 2026 Asian U23 Championship, despite injury and limited playing time, Dinh Bac managed to contribute 4 goals and 2 assists to win the Golden Boot, affirming his status as a future leader.

Explaining this decline, international experts point to a significant gap in competitive intensity between youth football and professional football. The Chinese newspaper states:

“The competitive intensity in the Vietnamese championship is much higher than in U23 matches, with teams employing more solid defensive systems and demonstrating better tactical awareness”.

Besides professional pressure, Dinh Bac's mental state is also seriously affected as "pressure on the striker increases exponentially" after each goal-less match.

Difficulties pile up as recently, Dinh Bac was unexpectedly absent from the preliminary call-up list of the Vietnam National Team for the March matches.

Although still expected to combine with stars like Xuan Son, the suspension carried over from the U23 level along with poor form in V.League seem to have forced coach Kim Sang Sik to be cautious. Not being called up to the national team at this moment is a regrettable low note for the striker from Nghe An.

However, Chinese media maintains an optimistic view of this young star's future. They affirm that outstanding qualities like incredible speed and flexible positional sense will not disappear just because of a temporary difficult phase.

The article concludes: “In the world of football, a goal drought is a challenge every striker must face... for Nguyen Dinh Bac, the current challenge is perhaps an indispensable part of his professional career development”. Fans hope that just one goal to break the deadlock will allow the 2004-born shooter to soon rediscover his innate predatory instinct.