Coach Shin Tae-yong was not happy after learning that his colleague Philippe Troussier quit right after Vietnam lost 0-3 to Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifier on the evening of March 26.
Indonesia left Vietnam to return home this afternoon. At the airport, Indonesian media asked coach Shin Tae-yong about the news that Mr. Philippe Troussier lost his job with the Vietnamese team. The Korean coach replied: "The atmosphere in the Indonesian team is very good, but personally I am not happy when coach Troussier was fired. The coach position is always responsible for the results."
The defeat against Indonesia left Vietnam with almost no chance of qualifying for the second round of the 2026 World Cup, and that was the final straw that forced coach Troussier to early terminate his contract, which was valid until July 7. Before that, he also failed to complete his goal at SEA Games 2026 when he only won a bronze medal and was eliminated from the 32 Asian Cup group stage with three losses.
Coach Philippe Troussier (right) shook hands with coach Shin Tae-yong before Vietnam lost 0-3 to Indonesia, in round four of Group F in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Photo: Lam Thou
On the contrary, after a difficult initial period, coach Shin was recently honored as a hero of Indonesian football. Public opinion in the land of thousands of islands calls on the country's Football Federation (PSSI) to soon extend the contract with the Korean military leader, when the current contract expires after June.
Coach Shin said he was unlucky in the early stages of leading Indonesia due to the impact of Covid-19. Therefore, the team was not built as expected, leading to repeated failures when facing Vietnam under coach Park Hang-seo. From 2022, jobs are more stable and plans such as player naturalization are implemented to help Indonesia have a new face, while Vietnamese football declines under coach Troussier.
Coach Shin drew two, lost two out of four matches against Vietnam during Park's time, but won all three matches since the opponent was led by Troussier. With a 1-0 win in the 2023 Asian Cup group stage, Mr. Shin helped Indonesia defeat Vietnam for the first time since the semi-finals of the 2016 AFF Cup. And after last night's 3-0 win, Indonesia defeated Vietnam for the first time in the Asian Cup 20. My Dinh Stadium after 2004 years since Tiger Cup XNUMX (now AFF Cup).
Vietnamese spectators at My Dinh Stadium demanded the dismissal of coach Philippe Troussier. Video: Mr. Phu
Coach Shin assessed that Indonesia was somewhat lucky to win big at My Dinh, while Vietnam was not weaker but just lacking connection. Meanwhile, the head of the Indonesian delegation, Mr. Sumardji, said that Indonesia is more confident, with the addition of two quality naturalized players, Thom Haye and Ragnar Oratmagoen - who scored the goal to increase the score to 2-0 yesterday.
Indonesia is currently ranked second in Group F in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, with seven points, four points ahead of Vietnam. The team only needs to win one more match in the last two rounds, taking on Iraq and the Philippines in June to be sure of qualifying for the third round of the World Cup for the first time in history.
Mid-Autumn
