March 28 – Vietnam have dismissed Philippe Troussier as manager after a shattering 3-0 defeat to local rivals Indonesia in World Cup qualifying.
The Frenchman was sacked after a second defeat in six days against Indonesia, leaving Vietnam in third in Group F in the second round of World Cup qualifying.
The two losses all but extinguish Vietnam’s hopes of reaching the next round of the preliminaries and clinching a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that will see at least eight finalists from Asia.
Iraq have claimed top spot and with two matches left, Indonesia have their fate in their own hands.
Last year, Troussier took over from the popular South Korean Park Hang-seo, who led Vietnam on a revival to become a force in the region.
He got off to a decent start with friendly victories against Hong Kong (1-0), Syria (1-0), and Palestine (2-0), but struggled to maintain that form, with ten defeats from eleven matches. and at the recent Asian Cup finished bottom of their group, failing to win a single match. The group included both Iraq and Indonesia.
In the end, Troussier had a win rate of just 28.57%, the lowest of any foreign coach to take charge of Vietnam.
He had previously served in various roles at the Vietnamese FA (VFF), which was quick to fill the vacancy of U-23 with the appointment of Hoang Anh Tuan. He will lead Vietnam at the upcoming U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar.
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