Le Cong Vinh's five goals against Macau in the second leg of the 2014 World Cup qualifier on Sunday means he is now the country's all-time top goal scorer.

 

The Nghe An-born striker has scored 31 goals in 45 appearances for Viet Nam, breaking the previous record of 30 goals in 63 matches held by Le Huynh Duc.

  

Vinh's five goals against Macau also means he holds the record for the most goals scored for his country in a single game.

 

Meanwhile, in the V-League, retired footballer Nguyen Hong Son is third in the most goals scored for the national team rankings, having netted the ball 16 times in 48 appearances, while Phan Thanh Binh is fourth with 12 goals in 32 matches.

 

Vinh, who plays for Ha Noi T&T, now has an average of 0.68 goals per match, compared to Huynh Duc (0.47), Van Quyen (0.41), Thanh Binh (0.37) and Viet Thang (0.09).

 

The 26-years-old scored the first two goals for Viet Nam against Myanmar in the HCM City Football Cup in 2004, which the team won 5-0.

 

Meanwhile, in the first group match of the 2007 Asian Cup, he scored the second goal for Viet Nam to help his country win 2-0 against the United Arab Emirates. Viet Nam went on to lose to Iraq, the eventual tournament winners, in the quarter-finals.

 

In the first leg of the final of the 2008 ASEAN Football Championships, Suzuki Cup, Vinh scored against Thailand in Bangkok.

 

In the second leg, he set fans ablaze by heading home the ball in the last minute of the game to secure Viet Nam's first ASEAN football title.

 

He has won three Vietnamese Golden Balls in 2004-2006 and 2007./.

 

 

Photo: VNN

(CPV/VNA)