Anxious as Coach Troussier struggles to experiment

" We are in the process of testing the squad, with many young players playing ," captain Que Ngoc Hai said in an interview after the match in which the Vietnamese team lost to China 0-2 on the evening of October 10. The statement of the central defender born in 1993 is not wrong. However, witnessing the testing of the Vietnamese team, fans have reason to be worried and impatient.

The Chinese team is stronger than the Vietnamese team. However, in the match in Dalian last night, the difference in professional quality between the two teams was not high. In fact, the Chinese team did not play well. They still performed poorly like in the draw with Malaysia and the loss to Syria - both teams were rated as underdogs and lost to the Vietnamese team in the past year.

Vietnam team 0-2 China

Impatient with testing

Up to this point, all of Coach Troussier's experiments can be divided into two groups: Experiments on personnel and experiments in gameplay.

The challenge of playing style is of a macro nature. The Vietnamese team is at a particularly important turning point. To be able to fulfill the World Cup dream, the Vietnamese team cannot continue to play passive defense. This style of play can solve a few specific matches, specific tournaments, but is difficult to sustain. The decline right at the peak of Coach Park Hang Seo's time shows that.

Coach Troussier's approach to controlling play is not unreasonable. The Vietnamese team must go through this phase - if not now, then at some other time. Of course, it is impossible to demand that Vietnamese players control the ball a lot when playing against a team of superior quality, but the important thing is that they have a specific idea of playing football, oriented into a formula when having the ball at their feet.

Coach Troussier has a clear philosophy of controlling football. However, the problem lies in the fact that there is a big gap between theory and practice that the French coach cannot control by himself. The imposition of a new style of play on the Vietnamese team depends on the players. Everything needs time to change and to "shape" a block into a new look.

The difficulty and complexity of the challenges of the Vietnamese team gradually increased with each match. The players showed that they grasped the idea and tried to implement it. However, the effectiveness is something to be discussed.

The results of the macro test are worrying at the moment. The Vietnamese team is indeed controlling the ball more, but it is mainly passing back and forth in the home field and is perfectionist. Coach Troussier said that the players have shown that they can control the ball. However, the Vietnamese team has not answered the question: What to do after controlling the ball?

The Vietnamese team lost to the Chinese team.

Finally, the situations that can bring goals are set pieces and long passes - the fastest way to approach the opponent's goal.

That means, the playing style of the Vietnamese team is not really clear, not many pieces. The tactical experiment in the first 6 months did not bring good enough results. In addition, Mr. Troussier rotated too many personnel, making fans vague about the framework of the new Vietnamese team.

The Vietnam team is in a transitional phase and in a situation where they are trying more difficult things than before, the problems are understandable. However, when the experiment does not bring good results, the fans naturally feel impatient. Criticism and criticism are understandable.

Coach Troussier is determined

" To prepare for the Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, we will definitely not give up pursuing our new style of play and new philosophy. In today's match, I asked the players to control the ball, control the ball as much as possible. That is the intention of the coaching staff ," coach Philippe Troussier said at a press conference after the friendly match between the Vietnamese team and the Chinese team.

The Vietnamese team played football without sharpness.

The results of the Vietnamese team have not satisfied fans so far, but Coach Troussier can only be steadfast in his choice. In the position of a head coach, the French military leader cannot "cut the plow in the middle of the road", abandoning the things he has intentionally built from the beginning.

However, tweaking is necessary. If performances in official tournaments such as the 2026 World Cup qualifiers are no different from friendly matches, coach Troussier must think about making a few changes.

Perhaps, the Vietnamese team plays with the philosophy of controlling the ball in the "Troussier style", but the tactics need to be clear, the personnel need to be arranged most appropriately to bring positivity, temporarily in terms of results. To be able to reach the level of playing football in the true sense of the word "control", that is a very long way.

At this point, losing a friendly match is not a big deal, but the way the players play on the field will certainly cause the French coach many sleepless nights. Mr. Troussier still needs a really coherent match, accompanied by a victory to ease the pressure.

As coach Troussier is still struggling with each piece as it is now, fans cannot help but worry.

Phuong Anh

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