Men's football and the long road to a World Cup

Meanwhile, women's football or futsal, which was "born later", received less care and investment, has had one participation in the 2023 World Cup and the future is wide open; the younger brother futsal has had two participations in the World Cup and spectacularly passed the group stage, the future is getting brighter every day...

The current Vietnamese men's football team puts their trust in the French coach, Mr. Philippe Troussier, which means putting their trust in the path to winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup and further the 2030 World Cup. This coach has had great success and also had unforgettable failures, which is true. But the fact that he dares to take on a difficult job, after the brilliant success cycle of his predecessor Park Hang-seo, is a brave, commendable act that needs to be supported. More than anyone, Mr. Troussier realizes that there must be change, must do it again if there is hope of raising the level of Vietnamese football. It is a long-term, elaborate job that cannot be achieved immediately after a few years of searching and building.

Remember, after the success, Mr. Park Hang-seo himself was not successful with the best players in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup against the top opponents in the continent, and was not successful in the 2020 and 2021 AFF Cups against regional opponents Indonesia and Thailand. Of course, everyone knows about succession. But looking at the current form of Ngoc Hai, Tien Linh, Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Cong Phuong..., combined with the recent rampant injuries, finding or trusting new players, young players is a must, there is no other way. Not to mention, to serve the big campaigns in the coming years of 2024 and 2025, bringing young players into training and competing in the continental environment right now is definitely the best opportunity, better?

The bitter defeat of the Vietnam National Team against the Indonesia National Team (0-1) at the recent ASIAN Cup is "breaking" many things along with many arrows aimed at Mr. Philippe Troussier personally. First of all, the opponents are changing, getting stronger visibly, while the Vietnam National Team under Troussier is like a mess of the process of testing the squad, searching for a suitable playing style. While the old pillars have both lost their form and are not trusted, the young generation is "swimming" in the fragile hope of the coach without the guidance of their seniors on the field.

To be frank, Mr. Troussier is not wrong in bringing young players into the field, but too much, without consideration is not right, not good, harming himself like the way Thai Son was overwhelmed and had to be replaced early, the way Van Tung was harmless and injured. He thinks that Hoang Duc has not really made an effort to adapt to the new playing style is right, is necessary, but the way he let Hung Dung sit out the entire match against Indonesia is extremely wrong, worthy of being questioned about the way a strategist "reads" the match?

But it is best to wait for the upcoming training session of the Vietnam National Team to compete in the 2nd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup and meet the same opponent Indonesia in 2 matches. How will the French coach "behave" with the old pillars and the emerging stars? Will he be able to absorb some of the "winning culture", will he know how to see more clearly the current situation of Vietnamese football to adjust the playing style and the use of personnel?

The current hot topic of men's football may cool down when we hear another perspective from... women's football, from star Doan Kim Chi from Ho Chi Minh City. That, perhaps the ASIAN Cup is not the highest goal, so Mr. Troussier sent many young players to the field to train and the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers are the best arena for the Vietnam National Team. Because the faces from Changzhou 2018 can hardly meet expectations, those who played well in the previous match but did not meet the requirements on the training ground for the next match, then sitting out is not strange!

Perhaps the door has not been closed for Mr. Troussier after the loss to Indonesia, but if the Vietnam team does not know how to regain what they lost against this regional opponent when they meet Indonesia next March, it will be considered that the relationship with the French coach will end. With no choice, Vietnamese football will have to say goodbye and wish him luck!