The highest "mountain" in Group D is the Japanese team. Kaoru Mitoma and his teammates played well at the 2022 World Cup when they came from behind to defeat Germany and Spain to top the group of death, before almost eliminating Croatia in the round of 16. In fact, not to mention the echo at the World Cup in Qatar (which will also host the 2023 Asian Cup), the Japanese team is always the top candidate for the championship in every major Asian tournament. With a stable squad with most of the players playing in Europe's top leagues and a philosophy of playing with tight control that has been shaped over many generations, the Japanese team is a high-dose "test" for Quang Hai and his teammates.
Vietnam team (right) meets Japan in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in March 2022.
Perhaps Mr. Troussier understands the danger of the Japanese team better than anyone else. Because it was the French coach who laid the first bricks for the team nicknamed "Samurai Blue", with the 2000 Asian Cup championship and a ticket to the group stage of the 2002 World Cup. Although Coach Troussier's success with the Japanese team has been gone for 2 decades, the experience and vision of the coach who was recently honored in the Hall of Fame of the Japan Football Federation will be very useful for the Vietnamese team in the match against Japan, or further on the journey to the group stage of the 2023 Asian Cup.
The Iraqi team is also a concern, as the West Asian representative is familiar with big-scale matches. The physical strength, speed, technique and improvisation typical of Gulf teams are Iraq's strengths, which the Vietnamese team must find a way to neutralize if they want to go far.
The remaining team in Group D is Indonesia. Returning to the Asian Cup after a 16-year wait, coach Shin Tae-yong's team is full of desire to show their performance. Although the Vietnamese team has won and drawn with Indonesia in the past 7 years, in a harsh and unpredictable tournament like the Asian Cup, no team is easy to defeat.
However, the Vietnamese team has improved in the Asian arena over the past 5 years, continuously facing strong teams in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers. Playing against the top "mountains" helps players gain experience and competitive spirit. The maturity of the Vietnamese team needs to be demonstrated at the 2023 Asian Cup. Coach Troussier and his students have 7 months to prepare, to at least repeat the achievement of passing the group stage like at the 2007 and 2019 Asian Cups.
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