On the evening of October 7, the Vietnamese team left for China to prepare for two matches against the host country (October 13) and Uzbekistan (October 13), before going to Korea to compete with the Kimchi team on October 17. These three teams are all in the top 15 in Asia, certainly helping coach Philippe Troussier and his team learn a lot, aiming for the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in November 2023. Talking about the upcoming three friendly matches, coach Philippe Troussier said: "The three upcoming opponents are very strong, but only in theory. The Vietnamese team needs to demonstrate well what has been practiced, aiming for a further goal."
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Vietnam team beat China 3-1 in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup

"With the Chinese team, we have studied the opponent's playing style, from there finding out the preparation as well as the countermeasures. On the FIFA rankings, the Chinese team is ranked higher than Vietnam, but that is only the ranking, the reality will happen in the match. It is a difficult confrontation but I set the goal that the players must show the best of what they have prepared, try to experiment, show the best of what they are aiming for", Coach Troussier is especially concerned about the match against the Chinese team. "In terms of results, I am also a bit worried when the three teams of Korea, China, Uzbekistan are all stronger than us. Anyway, this is the time for the Vietnamese team to improve better. Errors can happen. I look forward to that. Because only then, we have the opportunity to fix it", Mr. Troussier shared.
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Coach Philippe Troussier admits he is a bit worried about the results of the next three matches.

The French coach said that in addition to ability, the players need to ensure both form and fitness. The group of players who gathered from the beginning (October 2) from Binh Duong, Viettel, Nam Dinh, Binh Dinh... have an advantage over the late players. It is expected that 80-90% of this force will start in the match against China. "We can be confident because Vietnamese football has a potential generation. From young players to current national players, I want to convey a positive message, strengthening their belief in the style of play that I have built. That is to gain control of the match in some stages. Of course, no one wins everything. But we try to see the lessons after the defeats, how to aim for results that will make Vietnam more progress," the French coach concluded.
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