Coach Troussier: "Van Khang did not intentionally commit a foul"

Speaking after the match with Iraq, Coach Troussier said that this was a regrettable loss for the Vietnamese team. Regarding Van Khang's red card, the turning point of the match, according to the French coach, Van Khang did not intentionally commit the foul.

Duy Manh, Hung Dung, Nguyen Filip are helpless against the inexperience of many young players. Photo: ANH KHOA

Opening the press conference, coach Troussier said: “This is an unfortunate defeat, but I am very satisfied with what the players showed today. Even though the team was eliminated, I still asked the players to play their best, all play for the flag and consider this as preparation for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March. And they did it, confident and keeping their spirits up until the last minutes."

In this match, the Vietnamese team made some adjustments to the starting lineup, notably the two veterans Hung Dung and Van Toan starting with the return of Dinh Bac. The newness of the attack, along with the fact that Iraq did not start the match with their strongest lineup, helped the Vietnamese team play more easily.

The "staff" of the Vietnamese team has been under a lot of pressure recently, and possibly in the coming days.

Viet Anh is worthy of being the leader of the Vietnamese team at the moment with his comprehensive attack and defense. He was the author of the opening goal for the Vietnamese team in the 42nd minute from a pass from Van Khang.

But not long after, Van Khang made things difficult for his teammates when he received a red card (2 yellows) for a foul on an opposing player. The situation was a turning point because immediately after that, Iraq adjusted their attack by sending experienced strikers onto the field to "hunt for goals" to create a goal chase afterwards.

Will the Vietnamese team return to its best form in the upcoming two matches against Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers?

Regarding Van Khang's red card, Coach Troussier said: "In this situation, both players jumped up and collided. Van Khang did not intentionally commit a foul, but only tried to fight for the ball. But the referee gave us a card, so we had to accept it. Being short-handed, it was difficult for us to play. Perhaps Van Khang's red card was the turning point, leading to today's unsatisfactory result."

The Vietnamese team has stopped early at the 2023 Asian Cup. Surely the team will learn many valuable lessons from this defeat before preparing for the most important stage this year, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

HIGH WALL

Source