Le Phat's explosive performance with the Vietnam U23 team, sacrificing three years of his mother living in rented accommodation and washing dishes to pursue his dream, is heartbreaking.

Nguyen Le Phat's goal in the U23 Asian Cup quarter-finals not only paved the way for Vietnam's victory, but also brought tears to many eyes when they learned that behind that moment were three years of his mother living in rented accommodation in Hanoi, working various odd jobs to keep her son's dream of playing football alive.

When the final whistle blew in the U23 Asian Cup quarter-final, many Vietnamese fans erupted in joy at the 3-2 victory over the UAE. But in a small house in Quang Tan commune, Lam Dong province, Ms. Le Thi My Linh also cried in her own unique way. Her son, striker Nguyen Le Phat, had just scored the opening goal, marking the most memorable moment in his journey to pursue professional football.

Few people know that behind that goal lay three years of a mother from the Central Highlands quietly living in rented accommodation in Hanoi, washing dishes, working as a waitress, and doing all sorts of odd jobs just so her son could focus on playing football. For Ms. Linh, her son's dream of playing on the football field wasn't a distant dream, but the reason she left her farm and sacrificed her familiar life.

Nguyen Le Phat was passionate about football from a very young age. Even as a toddler, he would hold a plastic ball instead of a toy. As he grew older, Phat would play football until his toenails were torn, his socks soaked with blood, but he would still resolutely go back to the field the next day. Seeing her son like that, Ms. Linh understood that this passion was unstoppable.

Coming from a modest family, Linh tirelessly searched for admissions information, calling numerous academies with a single wish: "I'll let my son go to any place that can both train him and support him financially." When Phat was 9 years old, mother and son took an overnight bus to Can Tho to take the PVF Academy entrance exam. Among hundreds of candidates with family support, they had only each other. And then, Phat was accepted.

The real difficulties began when Phat moved to Hanoi. Parents were only allowed to stay with their child for the first few days. When his mother packed her bags to leave, the 10-year-old boy burst into tears. Unable to bear leaving her son alone in a foreign land, Linh decided to abandon her coffee plantation, leave her husband and young child in her hometown, and go to Hanoi alone to be with Phat.

Three years living in rented accommodation was a very difficult time. Ms. Linh did all kinds of jobs to make ends meet: washing dishes, helping out at a pho restaurant, cleaning warehouses. Whenever she had free afternoons, she would stand outside the academy's fence watching her child practice. Every two weeks, she would take a bus back to her hometown to take care of family matters and then return to Hanoi that same night.

Living in unfamiliar surroundings caused the woman from the South to get lost many times, and she was hesitant to communicate due to the different accent. One day, she drove her child back to their rented room, a distance of over 4 km, taking a roundabout route that lasted until late at night. Phat teased his mother, while she just smiled back, hiding her exhaustion.

Financial pressure was always a heavy burden. At times, Linh had to borrow money to pay for medicine when her son was injured. When Phat broke his leg, had a cast on it, and still sat on crutches on the field watching his teammates, she simply said, "Since you've chosen this path, you must see it through to the end."

Nearly three years later, when Phat had become more mature, Linh finally felt at ease returning to her hometown. But whenever her son played in a tournament, she would pack her bags and go to cheer him on. Not because of the nickname "Vietnamese Mbappe" that people called Phat, but because of the simple pride of a mother who had watched her son grow up.

Now, Nguyen Le Phat is gradually making a name for himself in the Vietnamese U23 team. For his mother, Linh, the greatest happiness doesn't lie in goals or the spotlight, but in her son's familiar words after each match: "I'm still your Le Phat, Mom."

Chinese coach creates a smokescreen, secretly scouts, and points out 3 weaknesses of Vietnam U23 team. An Nhiên10:30:50 19/01/2026Following their explosive performances, the tickets to the semi-finals of the 2026 AFC U23 Championship have gone to two rivals with a long history of rivalry: Vietnam U23 and China U23. Their clash on January 20th will be a battle for a place in the final.