Coach Troussier shares his thoughts before the Vietnamese team leaves for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers

On the morning of November 10, at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation, the federation's leaders met and encouraged the members of the Vietnam team before entering the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

Also during this meeting, coach Philippe Troussier shared with the leaders of the Vietnam Football Federation about the team's preparations, and emphasized the determination of the Vietnamese team before entering the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

He said:“In the near future, the Vietnamese team will enter the first official matches, the first challenges with two official matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Before that, we had 8 months of preparation. I also called up and worked with nearly 80 players, with 4 training sessions in April, June, September and October, with the goal of establishing the playing style that I want.

I have coached many national teams, participated in 2 World Cups, led the team at the Olympics, ASIAD Cup, Copa America, a total of nearly 300 matches. When the President of VFF sent the invitation, although I had experienced many glories, I was still very excited about the offer.

The current Vietnamese players have won the AFF Cup, won the SEA Games, won the U23 Asian Cup runner-up position, and reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup. All of them have had good achievements in the past and overcoming that is not easy.

Over the past 8 months, I have tried to make you understand my wishes and playing style to reach beyond Southeast Asia, towards Asian level and in the future, approaching world level.

Of course, training is very different from official competition. Recently, the Vietnamese team had 6 friendly matches, through which the players understood how different competition is from training. If we only wanted to satisfy the joy of winning matches during the preparation process, we could meet weaker teams, but I decided to choose stronger or equal teams so that the players could get used to new challenges, recognize shortcomings faster, and at the same time help me see my plans more clearly."

The French strategist added:“The players here have all worked hard and tried to train during this time. Maybe not everyone is ready to adapt to the new coach's changing style of play, but I will always persevere and help you, because that is what you and I are willing to do. If someone is not ready, he can leave, and I myself am the same, I cannot work if I am not ready to face the challenge. That is why we are here. It is not too late, let's all work together to fight.”

According to the plan, on November 13, coach Philippe Troussier and his team will leave for the Philippines to prepare for the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup./.