On the morning of November 20, coach Philippe Troussier represented the Vietnamese team at a press conference before the match against Iraq (taking place at 7pm on November 21 at My Dinh Stadium). According to the convention of press conferences, the head coach and a player will answer questions from the press and media.
Normally, the head coach would choose the team captain, or an outstanding, important player of the team to attend the press conference with him. However, at this morning's press conference, Mr. Troussier decided to choose young midfielder Nguyen Thai Son.
Perhaps, until the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia last May, Thai Son was still a strange name to most Vietnamese fans.
Thai Son accompanied coach Troussier at the press conference before the match between Vietnam and Iraq.
During the recruitment process for the 32nd SEA Games, Coach Troussier selected and tested many players. But it was not until close to the tournament that Thai Son was selected for the registration list. At that time, winning a starting position in the U.22 Vietnam team was not a task within Thai Son's reach.
However, the Thanh Hoa player has made remarkable progress. He won the starting position of the U.22 Vietnam team to play the entire SEA Games 32, then was named by Mr. Troussier in the preliminary list of the Vietnam team.
Among a group of talented players in the midfield such as Tuan Anh, Hoang Duc, Hung Dung, Quang Hai, young midfielder Thai Son still has his own place. He impressed with his mature playing style, persistent fighting and effective ball distribution, and then won a starting position when the Vietnamese team faced the Philippines in the opening match of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.
From being promoted to the Vietnamese national team for testing, Thai Son has now had an official position. And a place in the press conference before the match against Iraq seems to be a "hidden" message from coach Troussier, that Thai Son is a remarkable player, also an important member of the current and future team.
Thai Son has grown up remarkably.
In addition, arranging for Thai Son to participate in the press conference is also Coach Troussier's way of helping his students cope with pressure.
There is an interesting story about Coach Troussier, that is, before the 2020 U.20 Asian qualifiers, the press came to cover a training session of U.20 Vietnam. Mr. Troussier, who was coaching the U.20 team at that time, asked... all his students to line up to answer the interview, instead of just choosing 1 or 2 names as usual.
According to the U.20 Vietnam coaching staff, Coach Troussier wants his players to get used to pressure and be comfortable expressing themselves in front of the camera. That is the confidence needed for players to be able to make a difference, withstand the pressure of public scrutiny, when they are on the field and millions of eyes are watching. Pressure is a constant factor in sports that stars must bravely face.
After the match against the Philippines on the evening of November 16, Coach Troussier affirmed that he always tries to put pressure on his players both on and off the field. Pressure is a filter for the French strategist to recognize who are truly brave players, ready to shoulder the responsibility in difficult matches.
Before the match against the Philippines, Coach Troussier also chose a surprising name to "respond" to the media, that is striker Nguyen Van Toan. The striker born in 1996 was under pressure at that time because he had not scored a goal for his club for nearly a year, as well as "not scoring" for a long time in the Vietnam national team.
Coach Troussier has interesting psychological therapies
The French coach wanted his players to always be confident in themselves and not be afraid of public doubts, using that as motivation to prove themselves. Van Toan then scored the opening goal, opening the way for Vietnam to win 2-0 against the Philippines.
That is the spirit that Mr. Troussier wants to see in his students, that the more underestimated they are, the more they have to try to prove themselves.
"Maybe people think Vietnam is the underdog team, it will be difficult to win this match. However, that is good for the Vietnamese players, they will have a stronger spirit to prove everyone wrong. They will play as if they have nothing to lose. In the past few days, especially after winning against the Philippines, I observed and noticed that the Vietnamese players are very determined, focused on tomorrow's match," said Mr. Troussier.
With 200% determination, the Vietnamese team will create interesting things, like the way Mr. Troussier accompanied Thai Son today.
In the training sessions to prepare for the match against Iraq, the Vietnamese team changed their training shoes to suit the natural grass field, no longer having to practice with specialized shoes for artificial turf. Coach Troussier affirmed that the whole team is in good spirits and highly determined to surprise the strong opponent Iraq.
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