V-League and the 'revival' of the pillars of the Vietnam National Team
(Baonghean.vn) - When the Vietnam National Team entered the first match of the 2nd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia, the 2023/2024 V-League had only gone through 2 rounds, meaning that everyone was almost... not warmed up yet.
Therefore, concerns forVietnam team, especially the crisis in the attack line with the decline of Tien Linh, Van Toan, Tuan Hai..., injuries and lack of form of Hung Dung, Hoang Duc, Van Thanh... have made the belief in the renewal and re-start of Mr. Philippe Troussier become disoriented, if everything remains at a standstill.
However, when the V-League entered round 3 and ended round 4, when both Hanoi FC and Hai Phong FC finished the group stage of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup, everything suddenly went back on track and showed many rays of hope. Gradually, many people understood and shared the difficult reform process of the French coach, on the other hand, agreed with the strategist about the necessary steps to regain the form of the pillars, as well as the steps to "thicken" the fighting spirit of the current young factors.
The first thing worth mentioning is that Hanoi FC and Hai Phong FC, with their strong squads, are having to divide their troops to compete simultaneously on two domestic and continental fronts. They both failed to make it past the group stage, but it is very gratifying that they both had resounding victories, such as Hanoi FC's 2-1 victory at My Dinh Stadium against two top Chinese and Japanese teams, Wuhan Three Towns and Urawa Red Diamonds. Through these matches, at least experts and fans can see the spectacular return of top striker Tuan Hai, who is very likely to win the 2023 Vietnam Golden Ball, not Hoang Duc, who is clearly declining at this time. Besides, there is the reliable mark of a series of national team stars such as Duy Manh, Hung Dung, Van Xuan, Tien Long, Hai Long, Van Hoang...
Hai Phong FC is also proving the ambition of the port city team when they just won convincingly against the defending champion Cong An Ha Noi in round 4 (3-1). Dinh Trieu, Viet Hung and many other players are playing quite well and they can completely continue to be called up to the Vietnam National Team in the near future.
Besides, good news continues to come to the French coach. That is, Quang Hai has returned to score in an important match and maybe the Korean coach Gong Oh-kyun will be the one who knows how to restore the inherent form of this talent. Van Toan at Nam Dinh Steel Blue has also "fired" consecutively in the National Cup and round 4 of V-League. Tien Linh has not been completely silent as before, along with the return of Binh Duong. In particular, Filip Nguyen, after a period of waiting, has officially obtained Vietnamese nationality. At least, Van Lam also has a potential "competitor" and that is a great benefit for the defense of the Vietnam National Team.
The young players that Mr. Troussier has long trusted are also being used by many teams in the V-League as well as the National Cup. Dinh Bac scored consecutive goals for Quang Nam in the two tournaments mentioned above, which is a very complete "response" to the senior striker Van Toan. Thai Son is "flourishing" with Dong A Thanh Hoa under the foreign coach Popop. Minh Trong in Binh Duong plays energetically and effectively, just like what he recently showed in the Vietnam National Team. Players such as Nam Hai, Quoc Viet, Duc Viet, Van Xuan, Tien Long, Van Tung, Van Truong... are also working tirelessly to maintain their starting positions at the club, while creating confidence to be called up to the U23 Vietnam and the upcoming Vietnam National Team.
According to the latest announcement, the Vietnam team will compete in the 2024 ASIAN Cup from January 12, 2024, then compete in the 2nd qualifying round of the World Cup from March 21, 2024 and the U23 Vietnam team will gather to compete in the 2024 U23 Asian Finals from April 17, 2024, with the ambition of finding a ticket to the 2024 Olympics in France.
Accordingly, the 2023/2024 V-League will continue to compete until the end of round 7, on December 22, 2024, and continue the break for the national teams. Hopefully, the V-League matches will be the stage for the pillars of the Vietnam National Team and U23 Vietnam to shine, and will be convincing proof of the true class of Quang Hai, Hung Dung, Xuan Manh, Van Duc... so that they can continue to contribute to the national teams.
Of course, all hopes are focused on the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, but the tournaments mentioned above are the opportunities and bases to find and determine the key factors, in order to choose the most suitable framework for the most important goal ahead. That is the next most important match in the 2nd Qualifying Round from March 21, 2024 on the field of the Indonesian Team. If this match is resolved well, from a draw or higher, everything will be "smooth sailing" for the remaining journey of Mr. Trousier and his team.
Hopefully, the belief in the return to the inherent class of the above-mentioned important factors will be proven by the resounding reality on the field, from V-League to regional and continental tournaments./.
