Vietnam National Team Head Coach Debuts, Aims for 2026 World Cup

Accordingly, the contract between coach Philippe Troussier and VFF is for more than 3 years, from March 1, 2023 to July 2026. The new French captain is in charge of the U23 team and the National Team.

Sharing his feelings when accepting to lead the Vietnamese national teams, new coach Philippe Troussier emphasized: "I am happy and proud to be here, leading the Vietnamese teams. After all, I have returned to the country that I have cherished for the past three years of working. I fully understand the importance of the upcoming job. I will devote all my efforts to overcome the challenge. I appreciate the trust and confidence of VFF, especially of President Tran Quoc Tuan", Mr. Troussier opened the press conference after the contract signing ceremony at the headquarters of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) in My Dinh.

VFF and coach Philippe Troussier signed a contract for more than 3 years. Photo: Hai Hoang

Talking about the goal when leading the Vietnam National Team, new coach Philippe Troussier said: "To aim for the upcoming goals, I do not start from zero. My predecessor Park Hang-seo left a legacy of a competitive squad. This legacy combined with my experience will be a good foundation for us to conquer the upcoming journey together," coach Troussier continued.

According to the French coach, the upcoming international tournaments such as the SEA Games, the 2023 Asian Cup Finals, the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers, and the AFF Cup will be opportunities for the Vietnamese teams to face many strong opponents, accumulate more experience to aim for the highest goal in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Coach Philippe Troussier shares after becoming the new coach of the Vietnam National Team. Photo: Hai Hoang

"The 2026 World Cup expanding to 48 teams is an opportunity for the Vietnamese team. This is the ultimate goal that we are all aiming for. Of course, it is an ambitious goal, but not out of reach. This is the goal for the entire coaching staff, players and fans," coach Troussier expressed optimism.

Coach Troussier is aware that he must continue to help Vietnamese football progress on that successful foundation. He said: "When I accepted the VFF position, I personally set a goal not only to consolidate the position of Vietnamese football that I had achieved under my predecessor, but also to further enhance this position on the world map. And I believe this is a feasible goal. My feelings when sitting here and signing a contract with the VFF today are similar to the feelings when I accepted the position of head coach of Japan, when I was surrounded by talented, dedicated players with a love of football waiting to explode."

Mr. Troussier believes that there will be happy and sad moments, but calls for unity and concentration of all resources for Vietnamese football to achieve common goals during his tenure. "I want to connect people through football, because this is a sport that creates great motivation. I hope that my words will be fully conveyed to Vietnamese football fans so that everyone understands my determination and the journey we are about to take. This is a moment that I will always remember in my heart," the new head coach of the Vietnamese team emphasized.

Mr. Troussier's contract with Vietnam football is for 3.5 years from March 1, 2023 to July 31, 2026, ending after the 2026 World Cup. The salary of the former head coach of Vietnam U19 is around 60,000 USD/month.

After the contract signing ceremony and the introduction of the head coach position, coach Philippe Troussier officially started working from March 1 with the first training session in 2023 of U23 Vietnam (4 training sessions in March), then on March 8, the Vietnam team also gathered for 5 days.

The first task of the coachPhilippe Troussieris the 32nd SEA Games taking place in Cambodia next May. After 2 consecutive Gold Medals in 2019 and 2022 under the leadership of his predecessor Park Hang-seo, the new captain of the Vietnamese team is under a lot of pressure but also receives great expectations.