FIFA especially mentioned the most valuable Vietnamese overseas star in history

FIFA's fanpage sent congratulations to Vietnamese overseas player Ibrahim Maza as he joins Algeria's national team for the 2026 World Cup.

The official fanpage of the World Football Federation (FIFA) recently extended their best wishes to Ibrahim Maza, a Vietnamese overseas player who has attracted significant attention. FIFA's fanpage stated: "Ibrahim Maza and the Algeria national team have secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup final tournament."

The team Algeria has officially qualified for the 2026 World Cup final tournament one match early after a convincing 3-0 victory over Somalia in the ninth round of the African qualifiers. With 22 points from 9 matches, Algeria leads Group G by 4 points ahead of second-placed Uganda.

Notably, this African national team includes a young talent of Vietnamese descent: Ibrahim Maza. This star is considered the most valuable Vietnamese overseas player ever.

Born in 2005, Ibrahim Maza has an Algerian father and a Vietnamese mother. Raised in Germany, he is eligible to play for all three national teams. Although he once played for Germany's youth squads, Maza chose to commit to the Algeria national team, making his debut in October 2024 and earning 5 caps so far. In the recent 3-0 win over Somalia, this Vietnamese overseas player was substituted in at the 60th minute.

Currently, Ibrahim Maza holds the record as the highest valued Vietnamese overseas player (12 million Euros) and recently joined Germany’s top club Bayer Leverkusen for a transfer fee of 14 million Euros this past summer. He plays as an attacking midfielder and is expected to fill the gap left by superstar Florian Wirtz.

Explaining his choice to represent Algeria instead of Germany or Vietnam, Ibrahim Maza shared: "I chose the Algeria national team for sporting reasons. I am young and will immediately have the opportunity to play at the senior international level. This decision was advised by my family but was not easy, as I spent a lot of time developing, learning, and gaining experience with Germany’s youth national teams."