List of international players
Huỳnh Kesley Alves was one of the first naturalized players to represent Vietnam.
Đặng Văn Lâm made more than 40 appearances for Vietnam since his debut in 2015.
Nguyễn Filip had played for Vietnam since January 2024.
In 2024, Nguyễn Xuân Son became the first naturalized player without Vietnamese heritage to play for the team since 2009.
Từ Như Hiển was one of the first footballers born outside Vietnam to represent the latter. Born in New Caledonia, Hiển repartriated in 1963 and made his debut for North Vietnam national team in 1965 and played for the team until the 1970s. [1] [2] However, since North Vietnam wasn't a member of FIFA and the AFC at the time, Hiển's records with the team weren't officially recognized by these organisations.
List of players born abroad that represented North Vietnam or South Vietnam:
| Name | Birthyear | Place of birth | National career | Represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoàng Ngọc Minh | 1932 |  Laos (Thakhek) | 1958–1960 |  North Vietnam |
| Từ Như Thành | 1943 |  New Caledonia (New Caledonia) | 196?–196? | North Vietnam |
| Từ Như Hiển | 1945 | New Caledonia (New Caledonia) | 1965–197? | North Vietnam |
| Đỗ Cẩu | 1946 |  Cambodia (Phnom Penh) | 1972–1975 |  South Vietnam |
| Vương Tiến Dũng | 1952 |  Thailand (Nong Khai) | 196?–197? | North Vietnam |
Since the reunified Vietnam national football team rejoined the international stage in 1991, the players born abroad with Vietnamese heritage, referred as the Việt kiều were always considered as an important part of team as many of them trained and played in countries where football is more developed than in Vietnam. The most notable players are Russian-born goalkeeper Đặng Văn Lâm, who contributed in Vietnam's successful 2018 AFF Championship and 2019 AFC Asian Cup campaign; and goalkeeper Nguyễn Filip, who started for Vietnam at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. [3] [4] [5] During a short period between 2008 and 2009, the Vietnam Football Federation allowed naturalized players without Vietnamese heritage to represent the country but reverted this decision shortly after, in order to "preserve national identity" in the team. [6] [7] [8]
The list below includes players who represented the Vietnam national football team but were not born in the country. These players can have dual citizenship with Vietnam and/or have become naturalised Vietnamese citizens. The players are ordered per their national team debut.
- As of 5 January 2025
| No. | Name | Birthyear | Place of birth | Vietnamese ancestry | National career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nguyễn Liêm Thanh | 1972 | Cambodia (Phnom Penh) | Maternal | 1995–1999 | 8 | 0 |
| 2 | Phan Văn Santos | 1977 |  Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) | None (Naturalized) | 2008–2009 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Đinh Hoàng La | 1979 |  Ukraine [a] (Kyiv) | None (Naturalized) | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Đinh Hoàng Max | 1986 |  Nigeria (Abuja) | None (Naturalized) | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Huỳnh Kesley Alves | 1981 | Brazil (Palmeiras) | None (Naturalized) | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Nguyễn Michal | 1989 |  Czech Republic [b] (Litvínov) | Paternal | 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | Đặng Văn Lâm | 1993 |  Russia (Moscow) | Paternal | 2015–present | 44 | 0 |
| 8 | Adriano Schmidt | 1994 |  Germany (Grimma) | Paternal | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Nguyễn Filip | 1992 | Czech Republic [b] (Prague) | Paternal | 2024–present | 11 | 0 |
| 10 | Nguyễn Xuân Son | 1997 | Brazil (Pirapemas) | None (Naturalized) | 2024–present | 5 | 7 |
The players in the list below got called up to the Vietnam national football team but didn't make any official appearance.
| Name | Birthyear | Place of birth | Vietnamese ancestry | Year of call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludovic Casset | 1978 |  France (Sens) | Maternal | 2004 |
| Robert Đặng Văn | 1984 |  Slovakia [b] (Prievidza) | Paternal | 2015 |
The players in the list were born in Vietnam but spend most of their childhood abroad.
| Name | Birthyear | Place of birth | Vietnamese ancestry | National career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mạc Hồng Quân | 1989 |  Vietnam (Hải Dương) [c] | Full | 2013–2017 | 14 | 3 |
