Vietnam team has enough courage to 'weather the storm'

Accordingly, except for injured players who cannot be present such as Van Lam, Ngoc Hai, Tuan Anh, Tuan Hai, most of the pillars from the time of Mr. Park Hang-seo and new factors that the French coach trusts are all called.

This list also shows that Mr. Troussier is looking to overcome the fear of losing key players after the defeat at the 2023 Asian Cup against Indonesia, along with mandatory choices to replace the above-mentioned injured key players.

In the goalkeeper position, because Van Lam is still recovering from his injury, the three names called are unchanged from the time he gathered for the ASIAN Cup, with Nguyen Filip, Dinh Trieu and Van Viet. With Nguyen Filip starting, this is the most secure position compared to the rest of the Vietnam National Team.

Meanwhile, in the defense, Tan Tai, Thanh Chung, Tien Dung have been called back, but who will be able to replace Ngoc Hai to command the defense is still a difficult question? Recently, Viet Anh has been playing very well both defensively and offensively, and has learned from the previous loss to Indonesia, so he is expected to "fill" the central defender position? However, the injury in the 13th round of the V-League recently will most likely prevent Viet Anh from starting the first leg away, is it really a worry besides many other worries when facing countless pressures created by the opponent?

In midfield, the absence of Tuan Anh and Hung Dung who have been “sitting around doing nothing” for a long time is causing concerns about the upcoming central midfield pair of the national team? With a basic squad of players playing in Europe on the Indonesian side, Mr. Troussier needs a pair of midfielders with good physical strength, alertness in intercepting and quick transitions. Names like Thai Son (if he is not overwhelmed like before), Hung Dung (if he is completely healed from his foot injury) will be suitable candidates, along with Duc Chien who was just praised by the coach in the recent match where The Cong Viettel won 3-0 against Cong An Ha Noi? Quang Hai is gradually returning, which is a good sign for him to start, while Hoang Duc, with his recent performance, will most likely only come on the bench.

On the attack line, the worry of Tuan Hai's absence, the joy of Tien Linh's return, along with the presence of new but old names Cong Phuong and Manh Dung, will help the team complete the task of scoring goals well. Many people remember that Tien Linh, Quang Hai or Manh Dung used to "sow sorrow" for the Indonesians and the opponents also warned about the danger of these strikers in the future. But the Indonesian team today is very different from before in many aspects, so hope is not wrong but certainly the French coach must find many other solutions to increase the steel, flexibility and efficiency of the attacking points, to find advantages after each match and pay off the debt at the recent ASIAN Cup.

It is known that the Vietnam National Team's plan to gather is from March 13, but because the teams are still competing in the National Cup, it will take until March 15 to have enough players, which means the French coach will only have 4 days to train his team, then "cross the sea" to Indonesia on March 19. There, Mr. Troussier and his team will only have 2 training sessions before the official match on March 21 at Gelona Bung Karno Stadium with a capacity of 80,000 spectators.

This forced the French coach to definitely abandon the concept of "experimenting" with the squad as he had always done, the way he used human resources and tactics in the first 45 minutes of the first half and then replaced them right at the beginning of the second half, leading to a position being injured and overloaded without the right to be replaced. Someone said that Mr. Troussier must accurately, fully, and truly demonstrate the role of a general who commands a "battle" is completely correct. Moreover, the talent of a person who has brought 2 teams to the World Cup before, must be specifically proven in leading the Vietnamese team to overcome the 2nd Qualifying Round, against a Southeast Asian opponent, Indonesia, before talking about facing the top opponents of the continent in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the World Cup that Mr. Park Hang-seo has done.

Of course, Mr. Troussier, more than anyone else, needs to learn from the failures in the previous World Cup 3rd Qualifiers to help the Vietnamese team go in the right direction and go further. Reform and innovation are right, but to the point of facing difficulties in the World Cup 2nd Qualifiers is unacceptable, not worthy of expectations and could soon lead to his dismissal after the next 2 important matches.

Therefore, in this call-up list, the pillars of the Park Hang-seo era are recalled, which is correct and necessary. Moreover, it is necessary to use the old and new factors reasonably, create connections, communities, increase collective strength, and surprise opponents. For example, if everything goes well, Dinh Bac can make opponents regret because this player once played very well against the top team in the continent, Japan. Or "lungless man" Thai Son can make European-born players fall apart, thanks to his excellent physical foundation after years of challenges in the V-League and in recent regional and continental competitions.

Obviously, overcoming the storm of injuries, overcoming difficulties on away field, and learning from the recent defeat, the Vietnamese team is strong enough to do something against the opponent Indonesia on away field, before returning home to meet the same opponent again on March 26, exactly one week later./.

Hoa Bui