Coach Troussier: 'Losing Iraq is not the end of the bad'
"This tournament is a challenge for Vietnam towards the 32nd SEA Games. The teams participating in the tournament all have quality players," he said after the loss to Iraq on the evening of March 22. "In front of a strong opponent like Iraq, it's impossible for my players not to make mistakes, like in defensive situations today. I want to see mistakes like that so we can learn more and improve in the future. future".
Regarding this match, the French leader said that Vietnam played well in the first 20 minutes, but the loss of men forced him to adjust to balance between attack and defense. Even so, he still wants the team to maintain control. "The players partly met my requirements. They still managed to keep the ball up to look for opportunities. This is not the end result of bad," he said.
After three weeks of concentration, Vietnam kicked off the opening match in the Doha Cup 2023 friendly tournament, also the first match under the direction of coach Troussier after he succeeded coach Park Hang-seo.
Vietnam soon lost their army when Vu Tien Long received a red card directly in the 23rd minute because he was the last player to stop the opponent in front of the home team's goal. The personnel disadvantage caused the team to shrink in defense. Towards the end of the first half, Quan Van Chuan's net also had to go up when Ali Almosawe successfully scored a penalty after Luong Duy Cuong's foul. After the break, Iraq scored two more goals by Ahmed Hasan Aldeeshawee and Al Imari. Vietnam ended the match with only nine men on the field when Vo Hoang Minh Khoa received a second yellow card.
"In my opinion, the referee is not wrong in both situations of sending people," coach Troussier commented. "From those red cards, the players need to know how to control their behavior and play better. These are the necessary payments for the players to learn lessons."
He also affirmed that he would find a way to help players regain confidence to look forward to the next match at 0:30 on March 26 (Hanoi time), against the UAE - the team that just defeated the host Qatar 1-0.
