Nguyễn Công Phương

Nguyễn Công Phương (born 3 June 2006) is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for V.League 1 side Thể Công-Viettel.

Early career
Born in Hải Dương, Công Phương started playing football at an early age. At the age of 9, Công Phương joined the Hải Dương football center after his primary teacher's recommendation. At Hải Dương, Công Phương played as a center back and helped his team finished runner-up in the Vietnamese National U-11 Championship in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, Công Phương joined the Viettel FC youth academy.

In 2023, as the captain of Viettel U-19, Công Phương scored 4 goals in the Vietnamese National U-17 Championship, including a goal in the final to help his team win the tournament. He was given the "Player of the tournament" and the "Top scorer" award.

Club career
On 18 May 2024, Công Phương made his professional debut with Thể Công-Viettel, coming in as a substitute in the V.League 1 game against Nam Định. In the 90th minute of the game, he delivered a cross that lead to Trần Danh Trung's goal as Thể Công-Viettel won 2–1.

International career
In March 2022, Công Phương was included in Vietnam U17 19-men squad for a training camp in Germany, where they played friendlies against youth teams of German professional clubs. Later in the year, Công Phương was selected Vietnam U16 squad to participate in the AFF U-16 Youth Championship. He was named as the team captain and scored two goals during the tournament as Vietnam finished as runner-up after losing to Indonesia in the final.

In February 2023, Công Phương was called up to the Vietnam U20 team for the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup but refused to join the team to concentrate on the Vietnamese National U-17 Championship with his club. Later in year, Công Phương took part in the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup as the Vietnam U17's captain. He started in all three group stage games but displayed a disappointed performance as his team failed to win a game.

In August 2023, Công Phương received his first call-up to the Vietnam U23 side top prepare for the 2023 AFF U-23 Championship but was not included in the final squad. A month after, he was included in the preliminary squad for the 2022 Asian Games but didn't make into the final list.

Playing style
Công Phương is highly appreciated for his ability to control, to coordinate the ball and to keep tempo in the midfield. Mainly operated as a central midfielder, he can anchor the midfield or line up behind a striker with his capacity to make unexpected breakthoughts to cause chaos in the opponent's penalty area. These qualities made him one the most talented Vietnamese footballers in his generation.

Honours
Viettel Youth
 * Vietnamese National U-17 Football Championship: 2023

Vietnam U16
 * AFF U-16 Youth Championship: runner-up: 2022

Individual
 * Vietnamese National U-17 Football Championship best player: 2023
 * Vietnamese National U-17 Football Championship top scorer: 2023