Mr. Tran Anh Tu, Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), said that the federation will find a coach for the Vietnamese team in the next 2 months. If there is a suitable candidate, VFF will appoint a new coach to lead the Vietnamese team in two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June.
However, if a suitable person has not been chosen, VFF will appoint an interim coach as assigned to coach Mai Duc Chung in 2017.
The VFF representative said: "The head coach of the national team will be considered and evaluated based on criteria of prestige, professional qualifications and, importantly, suitability for Vietnamese football."
Mr. Tran Anh Tu added that to improve the quality of the team, relying only on the coach is not enough. The long-term strategy must still develop professional tournaments and improve the quality of the youth training system. This is a must-do task.
Mr. Tran Anh Tu directed the search for a new coach for the Vietnamese team.
On the evening of March 26, VFF reached an agreement to terminate the contract with coach Philippe Troussier. The French coach did not help the Vietnamese team defeat Indonesia, missing the opportunity to regain second place in the group. The team still has little chance of advancing to the third qualifying round.
Coach Philippe Troussier also failed to complete his goals at SEA Games 32 (winning a bronze medal) and Asian Cup 2023 (being eliminated in the group stage). The 69-year-old coach holds power over both the national team and U23 Vietnam. Therefore, after Mr. Troussier left, the position of head coach of U23 Vietnam is vacant.
VFF is trying to find a coach to take over the position of Vietnam's U23 team before the 23 U2024 Asian Finals which will take place in Qatar from April 15 to May 4.
