The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has terminated its contract with coach Philippe Troussier.

Immediately after the return match between the Vietnam national team and the Indonesia national team in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers in the Asian region (evening of March 26, 2024), the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Philippe Troussier met to discuss his work as head coach of the Vietnam national team and the Vietnam U23 team. At the meeting, the VFF and Mr. Philippe Troussier mutually agreed to terminate the contract effective March 26, 2024.



Coach Philippe Troussier thanked the players, clubs, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), and fans for their positive support and encouragement. He also apologized to Vietnamese fans for the team's performance not meeting expectations.

For its part, the VFF acknowledges the efforts and contributions of Mr. Philippe Troussier over the past period, who has always worked with a high sense of responsibility and professionalism. The VFF wishes him and his family good health and happiness.

The VFF also apologized to Vietnamese football fans for the team's recent performance not meeting the set goals, and hoped that fans would continue to place their trust and support in Vietnamese football in general, and the national football teams in particular.

In February 2023, he was selected by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to become the head coach of the Vietnamese national team. Coach Philippe Troussier once stated: "When I received the offer from the VFF, I immediately responded very positively. Becoming a partner of Vietnamese football and the VFF is an honor and a responsibility for me."

One of the reasons I accepted this position is my experience working in Vietnam, which helped me connect with people involved in football here. Another reason is that in the past, I held a similar role, leading the Japan U.19 team in the U23 Asian Qualifiers in Thailand, and then the World Cup Finals. That gave me confidence to take on this task."

Troussier started with the Vietnamese national team, securing three victories against Hong Kong, Syria, and Palestine. The Vietnamese team scored four goals and conceded none.

However, coach Troussier's "honeymoon period" quickly came to an end. In the next 10 matches, Troussier's Vietnamese team suffered 9 defeats. The only victory for the "Golden Star Warriors" during this period was against the Philippines (2-0).

Of those nine defeats, the Vietnamese team suffered a heavy 0-6 loss to South Korea. Furthermore, coach Troussier's team also lost to opponents that were favored by the Vietnamese team under coach Park Hang Seo, namely Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan.

When Mr. Troussier took over as head coach of the national team, Vietnam was ranked 94th in the world. However, after only 13 matches in charge, the Vietnamese team has fallen to 107th in the world rankings, their lowest ranking in many years.