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.
Từ Như Hiển was one of the first footballer 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.
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 were formed 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, or were born in the country but spent most of their childhood abroad. 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 15 December 2024
| 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 | Huỳnh Kesley Alves | 1981 | Brazil (Palmeiras) | None (Naturalized) | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Đinh Hoàng Max | 1986 |  Nigeria (Abuja) | None (Naturalized) | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Mạc Hồng Quân | 1989 |  Vietnam (Hải Dương) [b] | Full | 2013–2017 | 14 | 3 |
| 7 | Michal Nguyễn | 1989 |  Czech Republic [c] (Litvínov) | Paternal | 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | Đặng Văn Lâm | 1993 |  Russia (Moscow) | Paternal | 2015–present | 44 | 0 |
| 9 | Adriano Schmidt | 1994 |  Germany (Grimma) | Paternal | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Filip Nguyễn | 1992 | Czech Republic [c] (Prague) | Paternal | 2024–present | 10 | 0 |
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 [c] (Bratislava) | Paternal | 2015 |
| Nguyễn Xuân Son | 1997 | Brazil (Pirapemas) | None (Naturalized) | 2024 |
