Tuan Hai and teammates get into the new rhythm in round 2 of the 2026 World Cup

It is even more worrying when the factors that the coach trusted through testing are facing different problems in reality. That is the injury of Ngoc Hai and Duy Manh, the pillars of the central defender trio with long-standing international combat experience.

The remaining factor is young defender Tuan Tai, who is ultimately trustworthy enough with the potential to launch coherent attacks, but how will he play when combined with additional and replacement factors such as Thanh Binh, Viet Anh...?

The problem of handling the defensive crisis will clearly give Mr. Troussier a headache if Ngoc Hai really cannot return in time, especially in the match against the Iraqi team at My Dinh Stadium.

A very important test for Mr. Troussier is the position of Hoang Duc in the matches and at different times when the game is set. Needless to say, among the remaining old pillars of Mr. Park Hang-seo's time, only Hoang Duc is the one who shows that the continental stature he experienced is still promoting its inherent value.

Remember the recent match against a top-class opponent from Korea (0-6) to see that the only position that can confidently face anyone is Hoang Duc. The problem is where he is required to play to maximize that value, to bring about a real breakthrough that opens up goals and wins for the team.

Hoang Duc's forte is a central midfielder with the ability to coordinate defense, dribble and switch positions and make sharp passes like in the friendly match against Syria for Cong Phuong to score. The fact that the coaches, due to the dullness of the defense, have moved Hoang Duc up to play as a striker for a long time has not shown any clear results, causing many people to question whether he will actually play in the middle of the field or the area closest to the opponent's goal? This is only for Mr. Troussier to decide and of course he will do the best according to his point of view without knowing whether or not he takes into account the demands from outside.

What many people are most worried about is not only the defense but also the attack of the national team when they have been silent for a long time in the V.League as well as the AFC Champions League. But luckily for the French coach, after the match in the continental club tournament, in the third match, Hanoi FC had a 2-1 victory over the Chinese opponent Wuhan Three Towns, so he can put his trust in striker Tuan Hai with an impressive double, and in full-back Xuan Manh with a great assist.

Obviously, if the 2023-2024 V.League is not enough "playing ground" to test the ability of the players, the playground for Hanoi FC and Hai Phong FC is really the place to help improve the players so that they can contribute to the Vietnam team. A series of Hanoi FC players such as Xuan Manh, Hung Dung, Van Quyet, Tuan Hai, Van Tung, or from Hai Phong FC such as Viet Hung, Dinh Trieu will certainly play better when trusted in important matches of the team.

Among the above mentioned factors, Xuan Manh, Van Quyet, and Van Thanh were previously abandoned, but were called back because a series of factors were injured and could not recover in time such as: Van Hau, Quang Hai, and Tan Tai. With his passionate and aggressive playing style, and his increasingly perfect passing skills, the possibility of Xuan Manh coming later but being a starter here is quite high, especially after the important victory in the continental cup of the Capital team.

However, the possibility of Van Quyet taking a position in the attack or Van Thanh playing as an attacking full-back is not high. Because in the attack, Tuan Hai will be the number 1 hope at the moment, whether he is arranged to play on the wing or suddenly appears as a striker. The remaining players, although not really clear, may be Tien Linh still has not lost hope, while the young Dinh Bac is very eager to have been trusted before.

Therefore, if Van Quyet is allowed to enter the field, he can only be a secondary card when things need to be slow and experienced to distract the opponent. Meanwhile, on the two flanks, Tien Anh is increasingly perfecting compared to the requirements, Van Khang or Xuan Manh will be the first to be considered in the new diagram that the French coach has worked hard to build for a long time. This shows that Van Thanh will again be a high-class reserve on the right wing in the upcoming journey.

Hopefully the above predictions are just speculation because the “White Wizard” never lets his opponents or anyone figure out his moves. Many people worry about him, but many also believe in his ability to change the game in the current difficult situation. Obviously, he has proactively tried many times for each position and believes in his students, although the reality may make him have to recalculate like Duy Manh (replaced by Tien Dung), wait for Ngoc Hai to recover, add Van Quyet, Xuan Manh, Van Thanh and call up the whole young generation to transfer when needed like Nguyen Hoang, Vi Hao, Nam Hai, Manh Quynh…

To see, the French coach has carefully calculated every step, every step, proactively for every possible situation. And now is the time for Tuan Hai and his teammates to catch up with the new rhythm of the Vietnam National Team, so that every opponent will have to "look up" to this striker in classy aerial battles or a ball handling in the penalty area like a real killer that Vietnamese football is waiting to shine./.