Nguyen Hoang Duc (right) in the SEA Games 31’s final between Vietnam and Thailand on May 22 in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) Ahead of the start of the competition, the AFC has highlighted Vietnamesemidfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc of Viettel FC and four others as promising stars towatch as they try to help their clubs make a memorable run this season.
"A key component of the Viettel side and a regular for the Vietnamnational team, Nguyen Hoang Duc has been among the most talked-about players inthe Southeast Asian country in recent years and is set to grace the AFC Cup forthe first time," the website wrote about the 24-year-old player.
"A midfielder with an eye for goal, Duc helped Viettel secure the V.League1 title in 2020 and subsequently appeared in their maiden AFC Champions Leaguecampaign a year later, where he scored their first-ever goal in the competitionin what proved their first-ever win.
"Having made his international debut in 2019, Duc was part of the GoldenStar Warriors’ AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign and scored his first goalfor his country in a 3-0 win over Malaysia at the AFF (ASEAN FootballChampionship) Cup in late 2021."
TheHai Duong province-born player helped Vietnam to their second SEA Games titlelast month. He is expected to follow the likes of countrymen Nguyen QuangHai and Nguyen Van Quyet as Vietnamese stars.
The AFC also mentioned Ilija Spasojevic of Bali United. The strikernetted 23 goals in 34 games to finish as the Indonesian league’s top scorer forthe first time last season, ensuring his side returned to the AFC Cup for thethird time.
Spasojevic was twice on the scoresheet in the 2018 group stage before Bali wereeliminated, while he added two more to his tally in the 2020 edition that wassubsequently cancelled prior to the completion of the group stage.
Striker Ronald Ngah joined Malaysia’s Kedah Darul Aman early this year and isexpected to help his club do well.
Ngah played for Al Salt and took the top scorer title at the Jordanian ProLeague. In last year's AFC Cup's West Zone, he scored four goals in threegames, including a hat-trick against Palestine’s Balata Central, to fire hisside into the knockout rounds.
In the domestic Super League this season, Ngah, 30, found the back of thenet seven times in nine games to sit second in the scoring charts ahead of hisreturn to the continental competition.
Cambodian winger Keo Sokpheng of Visakha FC will make his AFC Cup debut at theage of 30 as both he and Visakha venture into unknown territory.
Sokpheng, 30, recently turned out for the Cambodian national team in theAFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifying campaign, where he scored the equaliser to securethe Keisuke Honda-coached side a 2-2 draw against Afghanistan.
Being a football star for seven years, he won league titles at Boeung KetFC and Phnom Penh Crown before joining Visakha in 2018 and won theHun Sen Cup last year.
The last player to catch supporters' eyes is Boris Kopitovic of TampinesRovers of Singapore.
The 27-year-old striker came to Tampines Rovers in 2020 and he scored thewinner in a 2-1 victory over PSM Makassar before again getting on the scoresheetas Tampines beat Shan United.
The Montenegrin is leading the Singapore Premier League scoring charts,having netted 12 goals./.
VNA
