Is Quang Hải really 'past his prime'?

With his inclusion in the starting eleven for Vietnam's group stage game against Cambodia in the ASEAN Cup 2026 on August 7, Quang Hải earned his 84th cap, breaking Lê Công Vinh's previous record of 83 appearances and establishing a new milestone for Vietnamese national team football.

Quang Hải first played for the Vietnam national team in a match against Jordan in Ho Chi Minh City in June 2017 during the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers, when coach Hữu Thắng substituted him in for Công Phượng in the second half. Nine years later, he has become a key pillar of the team, and the captain's armband he now wears reflects his immense influence under coach Kim Sang Sik.

And by officially surpassing his senior Công Vinh to become the player with the most caps in history, Quang Hải will surely set a record that future generations will find very difficult to break, requiring much time and effort to surpass his achievement with the Vietnam national team.

Speaking of Công Vinh, Quang Hải is now in a situation similar to what the striker experienced during the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup. At that time, despite being favored by coach Henrique Calisto, Công Vinh failed to score a single goal for Vietnam from the group stage through both legs of the semifinals.

Coach Calisto faced immense pressure to keep Công Vinh in the starting lineup, but his Portuguese mentor's patience was ultimately rewarded when Công Vinh scored his first goal in the first leg of the final in Bangkok (Thailand) and then became the hero with a decisive goal in the final minutes of the second leg, helping Vietnam win its first Southeast Asian championship.

Slightly different from Công Vinh, Quang Hải has already provided one assist to Đình Bắc in the 7-0 win over Timor Leste, but that still hasn't satisfied some fans regarding his form.

Adding to this, the unimpressive performance of the Quang Hải-Hoàng Đức pair in the match against Singapore, followed by Hoàng Đức's explosive form when Quang Hải was absent in the win over Indonesia, has led to more negative comments targeting Quang Hải.

Some have even gone further, claiming that coach Philippe Troussier foresaw Quang Hải's decline and thus neglected him during his tenure, but people seem to forget that even Hoàng Đức was not a priority choice for Troussier at that time, not just Quang Hải.

It would be very unwise to think that Quang Hải is now 'past his prime' and no longer contributes to the Vietnam national team, especially as we face two semifinal legs where the champion's mettle will truly be tested.

A player who has represented Vietnam since the age of 20 and became the most capped player in history after just nine years cannot be an ordinary talent, especially considering what happened with coach Calisto and Công Vinh in the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup.

Over the past decade, Quang Hải has countless times brought explosive moments to the Vietnam national team with his magical left foot, and at 29, this midfielder still deserves respect and expectation for what he has done, is doing, and will continue to achieve.