Is coach Philippe Troussier on the right track?

In the opening match of the 2023 ASIAN Cup against the powerful Japanese team on January 14, Mr. Philippe Troussier continued to trust the young squad including Tuan Tai, Minh Trong, Thai Son and Dinh Bac, trusted and assigned the captaincy to midfielder Hung Dung, adding more steel to the midfield by using the best defensive midfielder trio Hung Dung-Thai Son and Tuan Anh, in addition to placing Xuan Manh in the starting position for the first time in the right-back position.

Facing the Japanese team, currently the number 1 team in Asia, ranked in the top 20 in the world and in excellent form recently, the Vietnamese team under Philippe Troussier showed freshness and elegance in actively developing the ball from the home field, ready to defend deep and change state when opportunities opened up.

Playing for the first time as a starter for the Vietnamese national team, goalkeeper Nguyen Filip played an important role in calmly and coherently moving the ball to the left-sided center-back Tuan Tai, the trigger for every lightning-fast attack/counter-attack against a top-notch opponent in every aspect.

The destination of every counter-attack is young striker Dinh Bac, a player who is only 20 years old and is improving every hour, every minute under the trust of the French coach and his teammates behind. From an acceleration on the left wing in the 15th minute (about 5 minutes after the home team conceded a goal), Dinh Bac earned a corner kick for the Vietnam team. Then, this striker from Nghe An received the ball from Hung Dung's corner kick, headed the ball back to equalize the score 1-1 for the Sao Vang team. The goal reminded people of striker Cong Vinh's header at the AFF Cup 2008, affirming that Nghe An always produces football talents and always makes extremely important contributions to the country's football.

Not only that, Dinh Bac then accelerated, forcing the opponent to commit a foul, allowing the Vietnamese team to continue to receive a penalty similar to the one in the AFF Cup 2028. The left-footed free kick taker this time was also a player from Nghe An, Tuan Tai had a high pass for central defender Viet Anh to jump high and pass the ball inside, goalkeeper Suzuki pushed the ball out, Tuan Hai rushed in to score the rebound, raising the score to 2-1, surprising the opponent and ourselves. Both goals of the Vietnamese team had the mark of players from Nghe An. Moreover, this was a match against the Japanese team, so the meaning was even greater and more meaningful. Remember, in the last 10 matches, Japan only conceded 2 goals against Türkiye once (Japan won 4-2), it was difficult but the Vietnamese team still did it, to the helplessness of their opponents.

At this point, the phrase "attacking ball control" that Mr. Philippe Troussier often said before, which once caused so much doubt among football fans, is now a more vivid and eloquent expression of reality than ever.Vietnam teamScoring two goals in a row from making the most of two set pieces is something to behold in football, especially against a world-class opponent.

Of course, the Japanese team was surprised but not easily defeated, because when they accelerated, played fast, and promoted their individual talents, the Vietnamese team would reveal their inherent limitations, even though they tried their best. The problem for the Vietnamese team in this match was not how many goals they conceded, but how they reacted after each goal they conceded. For a long time, Japan has always had the habit of scoring 4-5 goals in each match against all opponents, so the fact that Minamino (2 goals), Nakamura and Ueda each scored 1 goal against the Vietnamese team was normal for them. What woke the Japanese up was Dinh Bac's brilliant header, and the classy free kick that led to Tuan Hai's goal. That was a great result that Mr. Philippe Troussier had painstakingly taught his students, and trusted them with the responsibility in a major continental tournament.

When the Vietnamese team scored 2 goals in the final score of 2-4, confidence was higher than ever for the next matches. The fact that Mr. Philippe Troussier "kept" Quang Hai, Van Toan and the whole team without any cards in the opening match, having more than 1 day off... are not small advantages in the important match with the Indonesian team on January 19.

After a favorable start, although losing the match was inevitable, the Vietnamese team will have enough time to review all the strengths and weaknesses in the last match, especially conceding 4 goals against an extremely strong opponent. Nguyen Filip played confidently and with class, but a few times he did not enter decisively may need to be "adjusted" soon? Thanh Binh needs to be quicker in front of hot spots? Tuan Anh's physical strength is clearly a disadvantage in the 90-minute brain race? Central defense is clearly not the strength of our defense, in which the support of defensive midfielders is very much needed...

And now everyone understands why Mr. Philippe Troussier has been constantly testing players, always trusting many young players and especially why players have to "control the ball". Here, the statistics of the ball control time of up to 45% of the Vietnam team (before the match, people estimated 20%) proves that the Golden Star army is on the right track to go far; is doing the right things, doing well the things that need to be done to improve; gradually reaching out to the continent as planned, although there are still countless difficulties and obstacles ahead.