Xuan Son suffered an injury in the first half of the ASEAN Cup 2024 final second leg and had to leave the game early.
Nevertheless, Xuan Son sent shockwaves through Southeast Asia. He made tournament history by becoming the first player to win both individual titles of Top Goal Scorer and Most Valuable Player without sharing with any other players.
Notably, it took him halfway through the tournament to achieve this historic milestone. Xuan Son scored seven goals, far ahead of the runners-up Tien Linh, Suphanat Muaenta, Patrik Gustavsson and Shawal Anuar, who scored three goals each.
He scored these goals in just four matches. In his fifth match, Xuan Son had to leave the field early. He became a nemesis, making Thai players and their supporters mention his name multiple times.
In tournament history, Chanathip Songkrasin also achieved this honour in 2020. However, he shared the Top Goal Scorer award with Safawi Rasid (Malaysia), Maranon (Philippines), and Teerasil Dangda (Thailand) with four goals each.
Legendary striker Teerasil Dangda won the Top Goal Scorer award four times but has never won the Most Valuable Player award.
Xuan Son is also the first Vietnamese player to win both the Top Goal Scorer and Most Valuable Player awards.
