VFF puts faith in coach Troussier, aiming for World Cup qualifiers

The issue of coach Troussier's future is becoming very hot after the Vietnamese team failed at the 2023 Asian Cup. Many opinions say that the French coach does not have the talent to lead, but there are also many opinions defending the 68-year-old strategist because changes in the team need time.

Regarding the issue of Coach Troussier's contract, VFF leaders spoke for the first time. VFF General Secretary, Head of the Vietnamese team at the 2023 Asian Cup, Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi said: "The regulations are all in the contract.

VFF đặt niềm tin vào HLV Troussier, hướng đến vòng loại World Cup - 1 — Coach Troussier still receives trust after failure at Asian Cup 2023 (Photo: Getty).

Coach Troussier's contract is very strict, with specific deadlines and tasks, we must respect, be patient and support him. Although the team did not complete the target, there were still bright spots.

The important thing is to be patient for Coach Troussier to do his job. It is important to support Coach Troussier to do his job well. Nothing has happened yet. We will cooperate even more with the French coach."

Coach Troussier’s contract with VFF is for 3 years. According to Mr. Khoi, discussing the review of the contract and the future of Mr. Troussier is not appropriate at this time.

Regarding the performance and results of the Vietnamese team at the 2023 Asian Cup, Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi shared: "VFF is very sad that the desire to pass the group stage was not achieved, but we still see bright spots like what was shown against Japan, Iraq and the second half of the match against Indonesia.

After the Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team has learned more lessons. In the next training session, VFF and coach Troussier will focus on the matches in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, the most important of which are the two matches against Indonesia in March and the return match against Iraq. The goal of the Vietnamese team is to enter the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup."

Mr. Khoi said that Coach Troussier thought a lot when he had to say goodbye to the pillars due to injuries. A typical case is Hoang Duc who was kept until the last days but the doctor said he could not play in the first two matches of the 2023 Asian Cup.

VFF đặt niềm tin vào HLV Troussier, hướng đến vòng loại World Cup - 2 — Vietnam team sets high goals in 2026 World Cup qualifiers (Photo: Getty).

"Coach Troussier really wanted Hoang Duc at the Asian Cup but still had to send Duc back to the club because he thought about his student's future. In addition, I also want to talk more about Quang Hai's goal.

Before the final match with Iraq, Mr. Troussier let Hai and his teammates practice that coordination exercise for nearly 20 minutes and we got the result of a goal when playing against Iraq," said Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi.

According to Mr. Khoi, one of the issues that coach Troussier wants Vietnamese players to improve is their response to VAR technology.

"After the Asian Cup, Coach Troussier said that he wanted the VFF Referee Board to get involved, to help players better understand VAR technology, thereby minimizing unfortunate fouls when participating in major tournaments.

VAR has a very modern automatic offside detection system. Vietnamese players must know how to behave and play," said Mr. Duong Nghiep Khoi.