At the FIFA Days in October, Coach Troussier's team failed to score any goals after 3 matches (against China, Uzbekistan and South Korea respectively). After that, key strikers such as Tien Linh, Tuan Hai, Van Toan and Van Quyet have not scored any goals after 3 rounds of the V-League 2023 - 2024. Therefore, before the Vietnamese team played the first 2 matches in the 2nd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in November, many people were worried about the performance of the attack. And in fact, the worries of fans and experts also came true. After meeting the Philippines and Iraq, the Vietnamese team scored 2 goals (defeating the Philippines 2-0), thanks to Nguyen Van Toan and Nguyen Dinh Bac.
Tuan Hai scored a great goal in the V-League round 1 make-up match between Hanoi Club and Binh Duong Club
Ignoring the match against Iraq, when this West Asian opponent was overwhelmingly strong and the Vietnamese team did not even have a chance to score. However, anyone who watched the match between Vietnam and the Philippines could easily see that 2 goals were too little compared to what happened on the field. Against an opponent that was considered much weaker, the Vietnamese team's strikers missed many good opportunities. Van Toan and Tuan Hai were not able to take full advantage of the opportunities created to score against the opponent. Meanwhile, Tien Linh's contribution was quite lackluster. This stemmed from the strikers' poor ball sense, or because they were not really confident.
However, after the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in November, the strikers of the Vietnamese team simultaneously "opened fire" in the domestic arena. Tuan Hai made a strong impression with a super long-range shot from a distance of more than 60 meters against Binh Duong Club in the make-up match of round 1. Tuan Hai's first goal in the 2023 - 2024 V-League helped Hanoi Club win its first victory since the beginning of the season in the national championship.
Van Toan (9) is trusted by coach Troussier in the Vietnam national team.
Van Toan also scored his first goal for Nam Dinh FC, when he scored against Binh Phuoc FC in the first round of the National Cup. Also in this tournament, striker Nguyen Tien Linh "opened his account" in the 2023-2024 season, when he scored to help Binh Duong FC defeat Ho Chi Minh City FC with a score of 2-1 at Thong Nhat Stadium. The young and promising striker of the Vietnam national team - Nguyen Dinh Bac also scored for Quang Nam FC in the National Cup (winning against Hoa Binh FC 4-1).
Being able to "open the barrel" at this time is important for the strikers. Tien Linh, Van Toan, Tuan Hai will relieve their thirst for goals, somewhat relieving the pressure... When the V-League 2023 - 2024 gets back into gear in early December (round 4), these strikers will regain confidence in every step, ball handling and finishing.
Tien Linh needs to quickly regain his form, if he doesn't want to lose his place in the Vietnamese national team.
This is also considered a good sign for Coach Troussier and the Vietnam team. V-Leeague is the most useful "training ground" for strikers to maintain their form and scoring feeling before joining the national team. If the players can maintain good scoring performance in the V-League, the French coach will also have less of a headache about the attack problem when the Vietnam team enters the 2023 Asian Cup Finals (taking place in January 2024 in China).
Especially Tien Linh's position, the striker born in 1997 needs to prove that he is the number 1 striker in Vietnam. 5 rounds of V-League 2023 - 2024 is enough time for Tien Linh to regain his form if he does not want to lose his place in the Vietnam team at the 2023 Asian Cup.
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