When the 'injury storm' swept through the Vietnam National Team

The good signs and worries of both teams, especially the Vietnamese team, are becoming more and more evident, but confidence is gradually being affirmed as time is proving that the path outlined by Mr. Philippe Troussier is on the right track and has a long-term vision.

First of all, the worry about a series of injured key players having to leave the team, including Van Lam, Van Toan, Thanh Chung, Tien Dung..., while other key players are recovering slowly such as Ngoc Hai, Duy Manh, Tien Linh, Van Thanh... is causing the list of players called up to the Vietnam National Team to change almost every day. Mr. Troussier had to add Van Luan and Tan Tai (whom he had repeatedly eliminated) one by one and this list will certainly not stop here.

Obviously, the 8 rounds of V-League, the National Cup and Continental Cup are opportunities for the players to show their abilities, to compete and warm up, but they are also subject to inevitable injuries as seen. Moreover, there is a situation in the club where they can play from the bench, playing at a moderate pace, one match per week on average, but when they join the national team, the requirements will be higher with one match every 2 days against high-class opponents. Tien Dung's story is proving that. This central defender still plays for The Cong Viettel but when he joins the national team, he is immediately "kicked out" which is not too difficult to understand in the current situation.

While the Vietnamese team is struggling with the list of players and the injury situation, their neighbor Thailand played a friendly match with the top-class team in the continent, Japan (lost 0-5). The problem is not necessarily related to Thailand, but mainly to Japan after the "message" from the above friendly match. In the upcoming ASIAN Cup, Japan, Iraq and Indonesia are in the same group as Vietnam. Japan has not called up enough players who are playing in Europe but has dealt a fatal blow to Thailand as we know, enough for the Vietnamese team to know... to gradually become afraid! Although the Japanese just praised "Vietnam is very formidable", it should be understood as just a diplomatic move, a clever word of theirs.

Of course, during this training session, the Vietnamese team is receiving joys and creating confidence to move forward. That is the first time the top star Nguyen Filip has been named and has the ability to start, creating peace of mind for the French coach and his teammates in the upcoming life-and-death matches, which is the greatest joy. The presence of Nguyen Filip is making opponents in the region worried and looking for ways to deal with it. That is the spectacular return of star Quang Hai after an unsuccessful time playing in France and his perseverance in regaining his peak form in the Hanoi Police team. Quang Hai's beautiful goal in round 8 of the V-League in the match against Binh Duong is sending an optimistic signal to many people and this must also be making opponents wary?

And when the injury situation occurs in series as above, the maturity of young factors, the return of new and old stars is showing the vision of the French coach. That is the story of Mr. Troussier trusting Thai Son, Minh Trong, Van Khang, Tuan Tai... right from SEA Games 32, to the first matches of the 2nd World Cup Qualifiers. From today, they will gradually progress to the mainstay positions in the squad without being surprised in the big playgrounds. The fact that the door to the national team is always open, the fact that big stars in the past "have not met the requirements and need to make more effort" has created healthy competition in the top football village. Hoang Duc, Hung Dung, Tan Tai... are having their positions shaken more fiercely than ever. Ngoc Bao, Thanh Thinh... are returning and threatening to take over their current positions is no longer an ambiguous thing.

Everyone understands the need to innovate and redo to improve and avoid repeating the old mistakes of the Vietnam National Team, but it is not easy to do everything in an orderly and effective manner right from the start. Mr. Troussier is gradually proving that path, despite many difficulties and obstacles. In fact, it is possible that the competition and training process of the Vietnam National Team and U23 Vietnam in continental tournaments is to concentrate all their strength and energy on the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign - the most important campaign of Vietnamese football in 2024 and 2025. Every victory or defeat brings valuable lessons and blood to Mr. Troussier and his team to create the necessary strength in the most important matches that Vietnamese football is aiming for.

Now, coach Trousier and his students must gradually overcome the difficulties caused by injuries, promote the advantages from the return of stars, the maturity of young players, and strengthen confidence from each step and each match. Because in general, right now, public opinion is also raising the alarm that even Japan or Indonesia are being ravaged by the "injury storm", not sparing anyone and they are also struggling to cope like the Vietnam National Team. The question is who can overcome, overcome, and who will be left behind?

Bui Hoa