Almost all hope is gone.

A moment from a match between the Vietnam national team and the Indonesia national team on March 21st.

One of the key objectives set by the 9th term of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is for the national team to qualify for the World Cup.

The specific goal is for the Vietnamese national team to reach the final qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, laying the foundation for qualifying for the 2030 World Cup. Therefore, the VFF (Vietnam Football Federation) has placed great faith in Coach Troussier. After more than a year with Vietnamese football, Mr. Troussier wants to make a major revolution, with big ambitions.

A 10-year roadmap to the World Cup dream isn't long, but it's enough time for the Vietnamese national team to prepare the best possible generation of players within the given timeframe. Therefore, upon taking on his new role, Mr. Troussier immediately revamped the squad with a host of young players. However, due to both subjective and objective reasons, he failed to build a team with a good transition between veterans and young players. The sudden and excessive changes in personnel over the past period have resulted in the Vietnamese national team lacking both quality and experience.

In the first phase, the Vietnamese team won a few friendly matches against opponents of similar strength, but their performance was not very convincing. In the next phase, the Vietnamese team suffered consecutive defeats against stronger opponents.

hlv-troussier(1).jpg — Coach Philippe Troussier.

At the 2023 Asian Cup, losing all their group stage matches, especially the defeat against Indonesia, put a lot of pressure on coach Philippe Troussier. Under Troussier, the Vietnamese national team played 13 matches. We had 4 wins against Palestine (2-0), Syria (1-0), Hong Kong (1-0), and the Philippines (2-0).

Of these matches, only one win against the Philippines was in an official tournament – the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. The nine losses suffered by the Vietnamese national team were against China (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-2), South Korea (0-6), Iraq (0-1, 2-3), Kyrgyzstan (1-2), Japan (2-4), and Indonesia (0-1, 0-1). In reality, Troussier's players did perform well at times, fulfilling the French strategist's expectations. Perhaps the first-half performance against Japan at the Asian Cup was the most satisfying for Vietnamese football fans.

"The style of play was too boring and disjointed," "Not a single shot on target throughout the entire match," "I've never criticized the national team before, but I'm truly worried about the state of our country's football," "We used to be superior to Indonesia, but now we're outmatched," "Perhaps the Indonesian side wants Troussier to stay as long as possible"... these were the reactions of most fans on social media after the Vietnamese national team lost to Indonesia in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at the Bung Karno Stadium.

It's not just the defeat against Indonesia that raises the question of personnel selection and the point of playing a possession-based game when the Vietnamese team didn't manage a single shot on target throughout the entire match. For Philippe Troussier, the French strategist's philosophy of ball control is built on a foundation of passing. Admittedly, that's the trend in world football.

It must also be acknowledged that Mr. Troussier is extremely committed to his beliefs, down to the smallest details on the training ground. Coach Philippe Troussier shifted to a possession-based style of play, requiring players to be more confident with the ball, move more to apply pressure, and find space for passing combinations. Building a more modern style of play is the right approach. However, the overarching feeling remains the lack of completeness in the Vietnamese national team at this moment. To play this way, Vietnamese football needs very thorough preparation, even laying the foundation for at least the next 5-10 years. Because to play the way Mr. Troussier desires, the players need to have very good tactical thinking, basic technique, and physical fitness.

In reality, Troussier's demands are quite high; it requires a long period of working together and training for the players to even partially meet the requirements. Although a year has passed, the training camps are only short-term and cannot help the players adapt and improve quickly.

To master that style of play, it needs to be implemented consistently throughout domestic football leagues. However, both in youth training and in "practical" V.League matches, how many training centers are teaching players according to a standardized curriculum, and how many clubs are playing proactively in the truest sense, willing to shed their outdated defensive counter-attacking style?

Former coach Park Hang Seo once lamented, "Vietnamese fans only like winning football," following criticism directed at him. This statement by Mr. Park is actually not wrong and is not limited to Vietnam. Everywhere, fans never want or enjoy their team's defeat. The last time Vietnamese fans experienced the feeling of victory was on November 16, 2023. Since then, the Golden Star Warriors have suffered six consecutive defeats. The loss against Indonesia was considered the "last straw," leading fans to direct their criticism towards Mr. Troussier. The pressure on Mr. Troussier was greater than ever, especially after suffering his second defeat under his tenure against Indonesia. The French coach himself said before the match at the Bung Karno Stadium:

"80% of Vietnamese people are waiting for tomorrow's results so that the VFF can fire me. Many people are eagerly awaiting the day I'm replaced. Many people here feel the same way. Many people say my approach with the Vietnamese national team is inappropriate. Some even say I'm destroying Vietnamese football."

I know what they're saying. The public can be influenced by that information. That's the situation every coach in the world faces. Many people may not believe me, based on opinions in the press and on social media."

This isn't the first time the French strategist has made such a statement. Before heading to the 2023 Asian Cup, he also made a similar remark.

Clearly, with the above statements, the "white wizard" is under immense pressure following the poor results of the Vietnamese national team and the wave of criticism from fans over the past period. This is believed to stem from the 68-year-old coach's personnel choices and tactics.

The French strategist prioritized young players while neglecting stars who were in the prime of their careers. Along with that, he implemented a ball-possession style of play that was considered somewhat too demanding for the physical capabilities of the Golden Star Warriors.

After the defeat against Indonesia, perhaps the 80% figure that Mr. Troussier mentioned has increased significantly, and the fans' faith in him has almost completely run out. The VFF (Vietnam Football Federation) had shown a certain level of support and trust in Mr. Troussier until before the loss to Indonesia.

In football, if you fail to perform your duties or complete your tasks, dismissal is inevitable. However, the issue of compensation can also raise certain concerns. But we should also look at the reality: despite his great ambition and effort, Mr. Troussier has not lived up to the fans' expectations.

However, despite the disappointment and mounting pressure to sack Troussier, making a sudden change of coach immediately after this defeat may not necessarily be a wise decision.

The French coach had two opportunities to "get revenge" against Indonesia in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers but failed in the first match. The return match will be a crucial turning point for the Vietnamese team, as they need at least one victory to have any hope of advancing to the next round. If they only get one point, the risk of being left behind by Indonesia is very high.

Coach Philippe Troussier and his team are under more pressure than ever to achieve results, and they must win the return match at My Dinh Stadium not only to regain a position that would allow them to advance to the second round of qualifiers, but more importantly, to regain some of the fans' trust.

If Vietnam fails to secure three points against Indonesia at My Dinh Stadium, their chances of advancing to the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be virtually nonexistent. In this scenario, it's unlikely the VFF will continue to be patient with Mr. Troussier.

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