ESPN: "Xuan Son will help the Vietnamese team win the AFF Cup 2024"

(Dan Tri) - ESPN (USA) expressed surprise at striker Nguyen Xuan Son's scoring ability and believed that the Brazilian striker will help the Vietnamese team win the AFF Cup for the third time.

"With each passing match, it seems that the new striker of the Vietnamese team, Nguyen Xuan Son (foreign name Rafaelson) can single-handedly help this team win the Southeast Asian championship for the third time in history," commented the American newspaper ESPN after the 2-1 victory of the Vietnamese team over Thailand in the first leg of the AFF Cup 2024 final at Viet Tri Stadium ( Phu Tho ) on the evening of January 2.

Striker Xuan Son celebrates after helping Vietnam defeat Thailand (Photo: Tien Tuan).

This is the match in which Xuan Son continued to shine when he scored two goals in the second half to help the Vietnamese team have a big advantage before the second leg final against Thailand at Rajamangala Stadium at 8:00 p.m. on January 5. "Of course, no player can really win a tournament, or even just a match, for his team alone. Even when the attacking players receive praise, they still need the defensive players to continue to complete their tasks so that the team can win. However, it can be said with certainty that, without Nguyen Xuan Son, the Vietnamese team would hardly be able to win the AFF Cup for the first time since 2018," ESPN emphasized the scoring ability of the Brazilian striker. The American newspaper added about Nguyen Xuan Son's "worth every penny" contributions since playing for the Vietnamese team in the final round of the AFF Cup group stage until now. "It's clear why opponents were hoping Vietnam would not have the services of the naturalised Brazilian. When he finally got his first start, the 27-year-old scored two goals and provided two assists in a 5-0 win over Myanmar that secured top spot in Group B.

Xuan Son is expected to help the Vietnamese team win the AFF Cup for the third time in history (Photo: Tien Tuan).

In the semi-finals, he was a real threat to Singapore's defense when he scored 3 goals in two matches to win 5-1 on aggregate. On the evening of January 2, he continued to do so against Thailand," ESPN described. "There are still many surprises in the second leg of the final. However, if Thailand did not know about the striker who made them wary on January 5, they will know now. This is the striker who confirmed that he will lead the Vietnamese team to win the AFF Cup 2024 championship," the US newspaper concluded.

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Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/espn-xuan-son-se-giup-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-vo-dich-aff-cup-2024-20250103132154736.htm