At the 9th Congress of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) held at the end of 2022, the goal of bringing the Vietnamese team into the top 10 of Asia was discussed, before being finalized as the long-term goal of Vietnamese football in 2030. In addition, the Vietnamese team also has the goal of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup, the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, or further, participating in the 2030 World Cup.
At the 32nd SEA Games, after the bronze medal match with U.22 Myanmar, coach Philippe Troussier reiterated this goal: "We are in the process of building a style of play, not only aiming for Southeast Asia, but also the top 10 in Asia."
Coach Troussier will start his journey with the Vietnam team in June.
The French coach clearly stated his tactical viewpoint, which is control. Not just controlling the ball, but also controlling the match, mastering the tempo of the match. This is the playing style of the top teams. The change in playing philosophy was set by Mr. Troussier to raise the level of Vietnamese football.
On the FIFA rankings, the Vietnamese team is ranked 95th in the world and 16th in Asia. In fact, the FIFA rankings are for reference only. Under coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese team reached the quarter-finals of the 2019 Asian Cup (equivalent to the top 8 in Asia) and the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup (top 12 in Asia), but it cannot be said that their strength is in the top 10.
In Asia, the elite group consists of teams that have regularly participated in the World Cup finals over the past 20 years. They are Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. These are also the 5 Asian representatives (along with host Qatar) at the 2022 World Cup. Group two consists of teams that rarely participate in the World Cup, but often go deep in Asian tournaments and are "regular guests" in the third qualifying round of the World Cup, such as UAE, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Oman, Jordan, Syria, China, Qatar and Bahrain. The Vietnamese and Thai teams are only approaching group two, meaning they have participated in the final qualifying round of the World Cup but not many.
Vietnam team in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers
The Vietnam team has made some changes.
To enter the top 10 in Asia, the Vietnamese team needs to have a stable position in group two, which means being on par with the UAE, Iraq, Uzbekistan or Oman,... Under coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnamese team has won against the UAE, Jordan, or only lost to Iraq in the last minute,... However, 8 losses in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup show that there is still a certain gap between the Vietnamese team and the top group.
Commentator Quang Huy stated: "The Vietnamese team has entered the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, but the defensive counter-attacking style of play will hardly help us go far. I expect Mr. Troussier to bring an attacking style of play with a higher level of control and initiative."
However, to be among the top 10 strongest teams in Asia, Mr. Troussier's change in playing philosophy is only the tip of the iceberg. Vietnamese football needs to invest and have a systematic strategy at many levels of the national team and club to develop evenly. The stumble of U.22 Vietnam at SEA Games 32 shows that if you do not invest persistently but only rely on the talent of the head coach, it is very difficult to win the championship even in the Southeast Asian region. Only when you invest systematically can you see the possibility of success in the goal of being in the top 10 in Asia.
Players need to be invested properly
Expert Doan Minh Xuong assessed: "Vietnamese football is in a transitional phase, but there are not many outstanding young talents. I think that Coach Troussier and VFF need to sit down to evaluate the current force, prepare for short-term and long-term goals. With the immediate goal, the core of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the 2023 Asian Cup is still the current force of the team, possibly combined with some U.22 players. After the 2023 Asian Cup, we will know where the Vietnamese team stands. As for the long-term goal, Vietnamese football and Mr. Troussier need to invest long-term in U.17 and U.20 Vietnam because they are the core of the 2030 World Cup qualifiers.
Vietnamese football still has many problems that the VFF, clubs, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism need to build a synchronous roadmap, build a foundation for development. There needs to be a solid launch pad such as school football, youth training, and development of the competition system, instead of investing in a "pencil sharpening" style, at some point both wood and lead will run out. Only with such a systematic investment can we think about the top 10. Coach Troussier is very good, but if there is no time to build a playing style and the quality of the players cannot meet the requirements, it will be very difficult to succeed. Raising the level of the Vietnamese team requires a change in thinking and the way of doing things. Mr. Troussier wants to change the philosophy of playing football with the new generation of Vietnamese football, but I think that will be very difficult and require patience."
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