When Indonesia naturalizes a full team

Remember, in the recent ASIAN Cup, the Indonesian team had 8 naturalized players in their squad (Elkan Baggott, Jordi Amat, Sandy Walsh, Shayne Pattynama, Justin Hubner, Marc Klok, Ivar Jenner, Rafael Struick) who regularly started as 5 players and they defeated the Vietnamese team for the first time in 5 years, with a close score of 1-0 as many people know.

The move to naturalize players en masse with simple procedures in this country is causing different opinions in Indonesia itself and the Southeast Asian region, especially in Vietnam when the two national football teams will enter two matches in the 2nd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, competing for the 2nd ticket after the Iraqi team to advance to the 3rd qualifying round. In Indonesia, the mass naturalization and the recent improvement in performance of the Indonesian team are not completely supported by public opinion. On the contrary, there have been conflicting opinions regarding the evaluation of previous naturalization results, the role of domestic players in the process of improving the team...

In Vietnam, the above information is causing many people to worry, because the Indonesians are doing their best to improve the national team and the risk of failure in the next 2 matches is gradually appearing before their eyes. The core force of the Vietnam National Team is suffering from injuries and losing form quite clearly with the names Ngoc Hai, Van Lam, Hoang Duc, Hung Dung, Tien Linh, Tuan Anh... Meanwhile, whether Mr. Philippe Troussier will change and renew after the failure at the ASIAN Cup or not is still a difficult question to answer? The V-League has just returned with 5 rounds (from round 9 to round 13), besides some players who are regaining form such as Quang Hai, Van Thanh, Tan Tai, Tuan Hai..., there is very little good news sent to the French coach as well as enough to reassure fans.

There are two stories to tell here. First, let's recall the recent 0-1 loss to Indonesia, fully analyze our strengths/weaknesses as well as our opponents' to be confident in our current force and determined to regain the inherent strength of the Vietnam National Team. Someone said "Indonesia is currently no different from a European team" in terms of form, which is correct, because they have a full squad born, raised, trained and played in Europe, even having U17 European champions in the Netherlands... But not everyone is Nathan Ake who is playing for Man City and the Netherlands National Team, but most of them are playing in the Dutch or Italian Second Division. That means they are not the most talented players of that generation, but are just non-top players, not strong enough to play for the home team, forced to play for other national teams. For a long time, naturalized players have not been rare and everyone knows how good their performance is. Even in the recent match Indonesia won, the goal came from a penalty kick due to Thanh Binh's personal foul, not the result of excellent attacks. The opponent surprised us with their approach to the match, with their aggressive attacks thanks to their physique and abundant physical strength. But the entire second half was a complete defense, proving that the opponent was still hesitant, afraid that we would counterattack and turn the game around?

Second, the element of surprise will certainly no longer exist. Vietnamese players, old and new, will also learn useful lessons from opponents who play European-style football and find ways to resolve them. The Vietnamese women's team once lost to the massively naturalized Philippines, but just one loss was enough for Mr. Mai Duc Chung and the women's players to find a way to resolve the situation, forcing them to return to the old "order". The Indonesian team may have surprised Vietnam, but clearly could not do anything against Iraq, who had previously held the Philippines to a draw in the second qualifying round.

So, if Mr. Troussier “knows the enemy, knows himself”, knows how to use the best elements of both old and new forces, including naturalized player Nguyen Filip, then everything will go in the right direction. But if he continues to let young players like Thai Son be overwhelmed, let Tuan Tai be weak on the right wing, let inexperienced defenders like Thanh Binh and Ngoc Bao guard the key positions, then not only will the team be eliminated early, but he himself will also soon “fall from power” after countless lofty statements and a unique conservative personality that is very unpopular with fans.

Obviously, when and only when they overcome Indonesia in the next 2 matches with at least 4 points (away draw, home win), the French coach's seat will be secure. Hope, difficulty and extreme anxiety are the times to prove the talent of a person who once brought 2 Asian and African teams to the World Cup, the time to prove the indomitable will of the Vietnamese people through the collective strength and individual talent of the Vietnamese team in the regional and continental arena, before talking about reaching out to the world./.