Coach Philippe Troussier calls on the Vietnamese team to fight together

"In the near future, the Vietnamese team will enter the first official matches, the first challenges with two official matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Before that, we had 8 months of preparation. I also called up and worked with nearly 80 players, with 4 training sessions in April, June, September and October, with the aim of establishing the style of play that I wanted.

I have coached many national teams, participated in 2 World Cups, led the team at the Olympics, Asian Cup, Copa America, a total of nearly 300 matches. When the President of VFF sent the invitation, although I had experienced many glories, I was still very excited about the offer.

HLV Philippe Troussier kêu gọi đội tuyển Việt Nam đồng lòng chiến đấu - 1 — Coach Troussier is ready for the challenge in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers (Photo: Do Minh Quan).

The current Vietnamese players have won the AFF Cup, won the SEA Games, won the U23 Asian Cup runner-up position, and reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup. They all had good achievements in the past and overcoming that is not easy," said coach Philippe Troussier.

The French coach affirmed that he and his colleagues are always patient in helping the players understand the new philosophy of the Vietnamese team, after 5 years of being too familiar with the playing style of his predecessor Park Hang Seo.

Over the past 8 months, I have tried to make you understand my wishes and playing style to reach beyond Southeast Asia, towards Asian level and in the future, approaching world level.

Of course, training is very different from official competition. Recently, the Vietnam team had 6 friendly matches, which helped the players understand how competition is different from training.

If we just want to satisfy our joy of winning matches during the preparation process, we can meet weaker teams, but I decided to choose stronger or equal teams so that the players can get used to new challenges, recognize shortcomings faster, and at the same time help me see my options more clearly," Mr. Troussier emphasized.

HLV Philippe Troussier kêu gọi đội tuyển Việt Nam đồng lòng chiến đấu - 2 — The Vietnamese team is ready to face the Philippines and Iraq (Photo: Do Minh Quan).

In particular, coach Philippe Troussier affirmed that anyone who is not ready can completely leave: "The players present here have all worked hard and practiced hard during the past time.

Maybe not everyone is ready to adapt to the change of playing style of the new coach, but I always persevere and help you, because that is what I and you are willing to do.

If someone is not ready, everyone can go home, and I myself cannot work if I am not ready to face the challenge. That is why we are all here. It is not too late, let's all unite and fight together."

On the VFF side, VFF President Tran Quoc Tuan encouraged the Vietnamese team: "VFF, the team, the players and the fans are all on the same front. If we join hands and unite, we will overcome any difficulty or challenge."