Vietnamese goalkeeper hands award to Croatian player at World Cup semifinal

Bui Tien Dung represented a sponsor to hand the award to Ivan Perisic (Croatia) in the second semi-final of the 2018 World Cup, which saw his team beat England 2-1 after extra time on Wednesday night in Moscow.

Perisic equalized against England with a goal that won fans' loud applauses 68 minutes into the game.

Dung was invited to the game at Luzhniki Stadium as a guest and brand representative of the sponsor.

Vietnamese goalkeeper Bui Tien Dung (R) hands the Man of the match award to Croatian player Ivan Perisic.

"Watching a match in the world’s most exciting football tournament has always been my dream. Ivan Perisic and Croatia team showed an amazing performance. I was so surprised and proud to be able to deliver the award to him,” Dung said.

“Man of the Match” is an official award of FIFA World Cup sponsored by a beer brand. The award winner is determined by votes from football fans around the world from the start of second half of the match. Fans can vote and change the results until the game is over. No official expert’s evaluation is involved in deciding the award, and it is thus not highly regarded in the professional sense.

Dung, 21, currently playing for FLC Thanh Hoa Football Club in Vietnam, gained national recognition as a resilient custodian of the Vietnam U23 football team that reached the final of the Asian Football Confederation U23 Championship in January 2018.