Coach Philippe Troussier finalizes the list of 28 players for the Vietnam national team to go to the Philippines

On the evening of November 12, head coach Philippe Troussier decided to shorten the list of the Vietnamese team to 28 players to go to the Philippines to prepare for the opening match of Group F of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

Vòng loại World Cup 2026: HLV Philippe Troussier chốt danh sách 28 cầu thủ đội tuyển Việt Nam sang Philippines

The Vietnamese team practices on artificial turf. (Source: VFF)

The three players who had to say goodbye to the team were defender Luong Duy Cuong, midfielder Pham Van Luan and Le Van Do. Previously, the French strategist also decided to remove defender Truong Tien Anh from the list of the Vietnamese team.

The regulations allow each team to register a maximum of 23 players, including 3 goalkeepers. Therefore, before the opening match against the Philippines, 5 more players will have to say goodbye to their teammates.

As planned, this morning (November 13), the team took a flight from Hanoi to Manila to prepare for the match against the Philippines team taking place on November 16.

To prepare for this match, in recent days, coach Philippe Troussier has also implemented a training program on artificial turf to help his players adapt well when competing at the Rizal Memorial Stadium of the host country team.

In Manila, the team will have 3 more training sessions to get used to the weather and field conditions, determined to win the opening match, thereby creating a psychological boost for the reception of strong opponent Iraq at home stadium My Dinh on November 21.

The goal that the Vietnamese team is aiming for is to win one of the two highest positions in Group F, thereby gaining the right to enter the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

On the afternoon of November 12, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong also met and encouraged coach Philippe Troussier and his team before the team left for the Philippines to compete in the opening match of Group F of the second qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Asia.

At the meeting, on behalf of the coaching staff, head coach Philippe Troussier thanked Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong and leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism , the Department of Physical Training and Sports, and the Vietnam Football Federation for the team's attention and encouragement.

The French strategist shared: “The whole team is fully aware of the importance of the upcoming match. Over the past time, we have focused on training and are ready to face the challenge.

The whole team is determined to make continuous efforts for the progress of Vietnamese football with the highest goal being the World Cup. We hope to continue to receive support from everyone."

Meanwhile, captain Que Ngoc Hai affirmed that recently, the Vietnamese team has been working hard and focusing on preparing for the two upcoming matches. The whole team promised to try to play with concentration and determination to achieve the best results.

In the second qualifying round, 36 teams are divided into 9 groups to play a double round-robin (home-away) match, taking place from November 2023 to June 2024. The first and second-placed teams in each group will advance to the third qualifying round (a total of 18 teams), and will also directly qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup finals.

The 18 winners of the second qualifying round will be divided into three groups of six teams each, playing home and away in a round-robin format.

The top two teams in each group qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the third and fourth-placed teams (six teams in total) qualify for the fourth round, also known as the Asian play-offs.

The six teams in the Asian play-off round are divided into two groups of three teams each, and will compete in a round-robin format at the venue.

The top two teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, while the runners-up will play a home-and-away knockout tie to determine who will advance to the intercontinental play-off.