According to the VFF, on the evening of November 13th, the Vietnamese national team held its first training session at the Rizal Memorial Stadium – the venue for their opening match against the Philippines in Group F of the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region.
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| Hung Dung (number 8) and other Vietnamese national team players train and prepare for the match in the Philippines. (Source: VFF) |
Training on the official pitch gives coach Philippe Troussier's team an advantage in familiarizing themselves with the surface and implementing their training plan in preparation for the opening match.
The Rizal Memorial Stadium is no stranger to many Vietnamese players, including Do Hung Dung, who played and scored on this pitch when he and the Vietnam U23 team won the gold medal in men's football at the 2019 SEA Games.
Sharing his thoughts during the first training session, midfielder Do Hung Dung said that playing on artificial turf is a common difficulty for both teams because the Philippines team only has a few players familiar with this surface, while the majority are playing abroad and are used to natural grass pitches.
Do Hung Dung also stated that the Vietnamese national team's preparations for the match against the Philippines have been completed.
According to Hung Dung: “Although the team only had a full training camp a few days ago, we have spent eight months working with coach Philippe Troussier. The preparation process can be said to be complete. The upcoming match will prove what the players have learned and what they can implement from the coaching staff.”
The opening match of the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers between the Philippines and Vietnam will take place at 6 PM on November 16th.
The Vietnamese national team currently has 28 players on its roster. The regulations allow each team to register a maximum of 23 players, including 3 goalkeepers. Therefore, before the opening match against the Philippines, coach Philippe Troussier will eliminate 5 more players to finalize the official roster.
Immediately after the match against the Philippines, the Vietnamese national team will return to Hanoi to face strong opponent Iraq at My Dinh National Stadium on November 21st.
The Iraqi team is considered the biggest challenge for coach Philippe Troussier's team in Group F of the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. A victory against this opponent would give Vietnam a significant advantage in advancing to the next round.
In the second qualifying round, 36 teams are divided into 9 groups playing a double round-robin format (home and away), taking place from November 2023 to June 2024. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the third qualifying round (a total of 18 teams), and also secure a direct spot in the 2027 Asian Cup finals.
The 18 winning teams from the second qualifying round will be divided into 3 groups. Each group will have 6 teams playing a double round-robin format with points awarded for home and away matches.
The top two teams in each group qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the third and fourth-placed teams (a total of six teams) qualify for the fourth round, also known as the Asian play-offs.
The six teams in the Asian play-offs are divided into two groups of three teams each, and will compete in a round-robin format at a designated venue.
The top two teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the second-placed teams will compete in a knockout format with home and away matches to determine which team will play in the intercontinental play-off.
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