BOGOR, Indonesia -- By the lofty standards he has set for himself, it might be easy to mistake that Rafaelson has been relatively quiet thus far at the ASEAN Championship -- officially known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026.
The Brazilian-born striker has scored twice from three appearances at the tournament. Considering Vietnam have piled on a total of ten goals already, it may seem peculiar that the man who has been their primary source of goals since he gained citizenship back in 2024 has not netted more.
Especially considering at the last tournament, where Vietnam triumphed for their third regional crown, Rafaelson scored a staggering seven goals to win both the top scorer and Most Valuable Player awards.
And yet, based on his overall displays, Rafaelson still looks to be the man likeliest to fire the Vietnamese to glory once again this year.
It must be remembered that Vietnam's triumph two years ago was soured by a horrific injury sustained by Rafaelson in the second leg of the final against Thailand, where he broke both his fibula and tibia in the 32nd minute.
It left him with an eight-month recovery period. Since then, it has been a painstaking journey back to his best but he is slowly but surely getting there.
The big positive for Vietnam is that they are no longer solely reliant on Rafaelson for goals.
Nguyễn Đình Bắc -- although primarily playing out wide -- scored a hat-trick in their opening 7-0 rout of Timor-Leste. Hêndrio and Geovane Magno are others to have followed Rafaelson's footsteps in switching their international allegiance from Brazil to Vietnam.
Such is Vietnam's newfound depth, coach Kim Sang-Sik was even able to leave both Rafaelson and talismanic captain Nguyễn Quang Hải out of his starting XI on Monday -- only for his side to have no issues in going on to claim an impressive 3-0 win away to bitter rivals Indonesia at Pakansari Stadium.
Rafaelson still managed to come off the bench to score his team's third goal against the Indonesians. The ease in which he pushed off Jordi Amat -- a former Premier League and LaLiga veteran, no less -- before racing through to finish past Nadeo Argawinata served as a perfect reminder of his strength, guile and finishing.
Previously against Timor-Leste, his ability to play his target-man role to perfection allowed others to shine. And even if Vietnam failed to find the net in their 0-0 draw with Singapore, Rafaelson still caused the opposition a constant headache with his hold-up play.
Rafaelson's role may now be more than just goals -- and he does not even need to start to have an impact.
"We have so many games so sometimes I need time to rest," Rafaelson told ESPN.
"I respect the decision of the coach. The players [that came into the starting XI] played very well. We are a team so sometimes they have a part to play.
"The most important is the three points to bring back to Vietnam. We played very well, especially [in the] first half [where] we scored two goals. Amazing night.
"Now we go back to Vietnam to play against Cambodia."
Based on geography, Vietnam's biggest rivalries have historically been with fellow teams based in the Mekong region -- predominantly fellow powerhouses Thailand -- while there is usually the most spice for Indonesia in clashes against Malaysia and Singapore.
Yet, while they are not exactly neighbouring countries, there is now a constantly-intensifying grudge between Vietnam and Indonesia -- fuelled by years of locking horns with one another which have regularly produced flashpoints and controversy.
Even before the game on Monday had began, the supporters at Pakansari Stadium greeted the Vietnam lineup that was announced pre-match with a chorus of deafening boos.
It made the manner in which they were silenced even more satisfying for the Vietnamese.
"We prepared very well," said Rafaelson. "I think the team did a very, very good job.
"We worked hard.
"To get three points here is very difficult. The fans here make a lot of noise and give a lot of support [to Indonesia], so it's a very special night for us."
Just last week, the draw at home to Singapore seemed a significant bump on the road to a successful title defence. It initially left them in third place behind the Singaporeans and Indonesia in Group A and question marks were immediately raised.
With one emphatic display against Indonesia, Vietnam once again look the team to beat.
Just a draw at home to Cambodia at Mỹ Đình National Stadium will be enough to seal their progress through to the semifinals, but Vietnam are expected to win convincingly.
And given how badly they want to retain the title, they might just go out and issue another statement like they did against the Indonesians.
"We did a very good job [against Indonesia]," added Rafaelson.
"We are fighting for this -- because the Vietnamese people want this trophy again. So we'll give everything for that."