The Endurance Test
One of the characteristics of the Vietnam team under coach Philippe Troussier is that the call-up list is always open.
Many players have made their debut for the national team since the French coach took charge. Most of them were promoted from the U.23 team, or outstanding individuals selected from the V-League.
Before leading the national team, Coach Troussier spent 4 years researching Vietnamese football and affirmed that he needed about 100 players to prepare for the World Cup dream.
Pressure mounts on Mr. Troussier
However, having a list in hand is one thing. The 68-year-old coach wants to directly train his students to test their abilities, experiment in specific matches, and at the same time evaluate their ability to absorb and progress over a long period of time, instead of just wrapping it up in one or two training sessions.
That is the reason why there are new players who have been called up to the national team a few times and then not called up again, but there are also some names like Dinh Trieu, Tien Anh, Thanh Long, Xuan Manh who have been tested many times and then have tickets to the Asian Cup.
Until the nearest official tournament, Mr. Troussier still surprised with names that, although not new, had not been called up for the national team for a long time, such as Ngoc Bao, Hai Long, Thanh Thinh. As for young players, there were always 5 to 6 places to "eat and practice" with their seniors reserved by the French coach.
At the 2023 Asian Cup, Van Truong, Van Khang, Van Tung, Thai Son, Tuan Tai, Minh Trong are young players used interspersed with the mainstays, not to mention Thanh Nhan, Vi Hao, Van Do or Van Toan.
The new source of players creates competitiveness for the Vietnamese team. At the same time, with players who are very young or have a strong desire to prove themselves when they have not been called up to the national team much before, Mr. Troussier can easily shape and correct their thinking.
Dinh Bac's performance is a testament to Coach Troussier's eye for people.
But the downside of an "open" roster is the lack of stability in the squad. It is understandable to shuffle players around for a tournament spread out over 8 months like the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. However, in the Asian Cup, which is a short tournament, Mr. Troussier's deep dive into adjustments and experiments caused the Vietnamese team to collapse at the most crucial moment.
What did coach Philippe Troussier say to the Vietnamese team after losing to Iraq?
Old or new?
Before the match against Indonesia, Coach Troussier will have about 1 month to observe and evaluate his players' performance in the V-League.
The return of some faces such as Tien Linh, Hoang Duc, Thanh Chung, Que Ngoc Hai, Van Lam, Duc Chien... will be closely monitored by the coaching staff of the Vietnam team. Mr. Troussier and his assistant need to evaluate the recovery process, integration, ball feeling as well as the performance of the students before deciding whether to call them up or not.
Captain Do Hung Dung: Remember why Vietnam lost to Indonesia
For the rookies, the question is, when entering a must-win match (even deciding the team's future in the World Cup qualifiers), will Coach Troussier continue to experiment with the players, or will he make adjustments?
Based on the "history" of previous training sessions, it is almost certain that the French coach will continue to call up new faces, then add U.23 players to promote the youth team as the U.23 Asian finals are approaching.
Vietnam team needs more harmony
However, when the pressure of achievement is heavy, the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team needs to take one of two paths: continue to adventure with new thinking, or rely on the old foundation to solve the immediate problem.
The World Cup dream is far away, but the upcoming journey will be decided by a very close opponent named Indonesia.
The Indonesian team is undergoing a drastic change with 13 naturalized players and a young star squad that grew up from the U.22 team. Coach Shin Tae-yong wants to "transform" the team with a completely new look.
To confront the strength of Indonesia, Coach Troussier wants to choose the appropriate freshness and youth, or will he take advantage of the experience and the seemingly old but very effective foundation in the past? That is the choice that Coach Troussier must make decisively.
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