Vietnam s naturalized scorer Nguyen Chun-san hopes to lead the team to participate in the 2030 World Cup

In an interview with ESPN Brazil, naturalized shooter Nguyen Chun-san expressed his ambition to lead the Vietnamese team to participate in the 2030 World Cup in order to repay the love of Vietnamese fans.

"My biggest goal is to advance to the 2030 World Cup," Nguyen Chun-san, who was on vacation in his hometown in Brazil last month, told ESPN Brazil.

"The renewal of the contract until 2031 is the guarantee that this dream can be realized."

In 2022, Vietnam once approached the World Cup and advanced to the final stage of the World Cup. For the 2026 World Cup, Indonesia has become the only Southeast Asian team that has achieved success in the World Cup.

In addition to sharing his ultimate goal with the Brazilian media, Nguyen Chun-san also reviewed his extraordinary football career, from the Bahia youth team suffering from injuries to becoming a hero of a country. He said that although he could only celebrate in the hospital, winning the 2024 Southeast Asian Cup was a wonderful memory he had never imagined.

North Chun Shan's Brazilian name is Raphaelsson. He obtained Vietnamese nationality in September 2024, becoming the first non-Vietnamese player to be recruited by the national team since 2009. During the Vietnamese team's championship in January this year, he made an important contribution and won the MVP of the event, but was injured in the final and was replaced in the middle. This victory is by far the most significant achievement Nguyen Chun-san has achieved in Vietnam. He admitted that it was "somewhatful".

Eight months ago, Ruan Chunshan underwent tibial surgery and is currently in the final stage of recovery. He is working hard to recover and strive to return to the Vietnam national team early next year, when Kim Sang-sik's team will participate in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.