Nguyễn Đình Bắc is compared to Harry Kane by a FIFA expert.

According to FIFA specialist Richard Allen, Nguyễn Đình Bắc has numerous parallels with Harry Kane, including early rejection because of his physique and his subsequent journey to becoming a prominent figure in Vietnamese football.

Once dismissed as too small and failing to meet physical standards, Nguyễn Đình Bắc is now believed by a FIFA expert to have the potential to reach Harry Kane's level in the future.

Few are aware that before becoming a Vietnamese football star, Đình Bắc was not retained by academies such as Huế and Sông Lam Nghệ An due to his lack of physical strength and build. However, like many football fairy tales worldwide, those early setbacks could not stop the 2004-born player from chasing his dream.

Within just a few years, he has made tremendous progress, now standing 1.79m tall with an increasingly robust physique. Shining for Quảng Nam, Đình Bắc later moved to Công An Hà Nội and quickly became one of the brightest young talents in Vietnamese football.

Over the past two seasons, the 21-year-old striker has accumulated an enviable record of three domestic titles, including the First Division championship with the "team from Quảng" and the National Cup and V-League titles with the "Police team.". In addition, Đình Bắc holds honors such as Vietnam's Silver Ball 2025, Best Young Player of 2025, SEA U23 Gold Medal, SEA Games 2025 Gold Medal, and Asian U23 Bronze Medal 2026, along with the Top Scorer award.

What makes this story special is how the journey of the Nghệ An-born player mirrors Harry Kane's. The England captain was once released by Arsenal for being too small and not meeting physical criteria. When he joined Tottenham Hotspur, Kane was not highly regarded and even faced doubts about becoming a professional footballer.

FIFA expert Richard Allen believes that both the English striker and Đình Bắc were influenced by the "relative age effect"—a phenomenon where late-maturing players often struggle at youth levels. In his view, being rejected inadvertently became the driving force that helped them develop resilience and a strong will to overcome obstacles.

"The fact that Harry Kane and Đình Bắc were not selected early on can be considered a blessing. Those failures helped them cultivate perseverance and a strong desire to improve. Đình Bắc is still very young and can absolutely grow into a top-tier star if he continues to refine himself," the FIFA expert stated.

As Vietnamese football searches for new icons for the future, Nguyễn Đình Bắc's story may be the clearest proof that talent does not always emerge early. Who knows, the boy once rejected could become the "Harry Kane of Vietnamese football" in the years ahead.