Dinh Bac and Tuan Hai 'open fire', Coach Troussier temporarily breathes a sigh of relief about the attack problem

The form of the Vietnamese national team's strikers has always been a major headache for coach Philippe Troussier. Before the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, all 7 strikers summoned by the French coach had not scored any goals in the V-League. Only Tuan Hai was the only one who maintained his peak form with 3 goals for the Hanoi team in the AFC Champions League.

Tuan Hai (right) maintains high performance

Although in the match against the Philippines, the Vietnamese team scored 2 goals thanks to Van Toan and Dinh Bac, coach Philippe Troussier is still struggling to find a true assassin to lead the attack.

"Dinh Bac and Van Khang have performed well. But look at the time they played in the V-League. They have a lot of potential but if they don't play regularly, it will be difficult for them to develop. After the first two matches in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, Van Khang or Dinh Bac may return to the reserve position at the club level. Thanh Nhan plays in the first division," coach Philippe Troussier complained about the playing time of young players at the club level.

Dinh Bac (middle) is a new factor in the Vietnam team.

However, immediately after returning to the club, the names trusted by coach Philippe Troussier in the Vietnamese national team's attack, such as Dinh Bac and Tuan Hai, "opened fire".

In the Quang Nam team shirt, although not starting from the beginning in the reception of Hoa Binh in the National Cup, Dinh Bac had a brilliant 45 minutes in the second half at Hoa Xuan stage. The highlight was the 19-year-old player's solo from outside the penalty area, before making a shot that flew into the net of goalkeeper Nguyen Duy Dung.

Meanwhile, senior Pham Tuan Hai (Hanoi Club) delighted Vietnamese football fans with a superb shot from over 60m in the make-up match of round 1 of V-League 2023 - 2024 between Binh Duong and Hanoi. The kick of the player from Ha Nam showed his excellent form at the moment.

Tuan Hai's kick showed how impressive the former Ha Tinh player's spatial sense and sensitivity were. Even after the match, coach Dinh The Nam was surprised by his student's masterpiece. "There are many surprises in football and in the match against Binh Duong, it was Tuan Hai's masterpiece. Tuan Hai's good observation ability and sensitivity helped Hanoi FC get 3 points."

With the two pillars of the Vietnamese national team's attack in the FIFA Days in October and November, Dinh Bac and Tuan Hai, scoring, coach Philippe Troussier can be somewhat assured about the performance of his players when they return to their clubs. Currently, the performance of strikers such as Tien Linh and Van Tung is unstable, coach Philippe Troussier will expect a lot from the wingers, where Van Toan, Dinh Bac, Van Khang and Thanh Nhan have left some impressions on the Vietnamese national team in the past time.

Coach Philippe Troussier is looking to build a virtual number 9 model in the attack of the Vietnamese team. In the match against Iraq, the French coach did that with Tuan Hai. Therefore, it is not impossible that the striker of Hanoi Club will be the main player in the attack of the Vietnamese team at the 2024 Asian Cup. With Dinh Bac or Van Khang, if they show good form for their clubs in the coming time, this duo will likely play an important role in coach Philippe Troussier's plan in all tournaments next year.

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