Losing to Korea is not a shock. Of course, it was a losing game, but I hoped that there would be some resistance. That’s why Vietnam is frustrated with the crushing defeat by 6 goals.
Vietnam, led by coach Philippe Trussier, visited Korea last week and had a tough learning experience. They lost 0-6 in the international match against Klinsmann held at Suwon World Cup Stadium. Korea’s European players, such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), whom Vietnam looked up to, were very active, and the net continued to fluctuate.
Vietnam was completely overwhelmed by Korea. Until last year, they had advanced to the final qualifying round of the World Cup Asia region and reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) United Arab Emirates (UAE) Asian Cup. I tried to line up with the top Asian teams, thinking that I was leaving Southeast Asia, but the gap with Korea was wide.
Even Vietnam is not used to losing by 6 goals. According to Vietnamese media ‘Express’, Vietnam experienced a loss by 6 goals for the third time in history. I thought my strength had improved, so I tried to check my competitiveness through the Korean War, but it only made me sigh.
Vietnam ended its five-year association with coach Park Hang-seo in January of this year. Coach Park Hang-seo, who has been with the Vietnam A national team and the U-23 national team for a long time, has achieved great results. Starting with a runner-up finish in the U-23 Asian Cup in his first year in office, expectations were raised by winning the 2018 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Cup and placing 4th in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. Since then, amazing results have been shown every year, giving great confidence to Vietnam.
After Coach Park Hang-seo left, Coach Trussier, who led Japan to the round of 16 in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, took over as his successor. They pledged to take Vietnam to the next level, but lost to China (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-2), and Korea in October alone. They posted a disappointing record of no goals and 10 conceded goals in 3 games.
There are more than one complaint. Vietnamese media outlet Nguoi Lao Dong said, “As Vietnam lost to Korea, concerns grew. The score of 0-6 was the biggest defeat in almost 8 years,” adding, “Doubts are focused on coach Trussier’s player selection method and tactics. “It will happen,” he said.
The media said, “Coach Park Hang-seo competed on equal footing with the best teams in Asia, including Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, with a counterattacking defense style,” and “Coach Troussier said he would change Vietnam’s method of holding the ball and attacking actively. Vietnam “I saw that the players’ skills had improved, but they were sluggish, and their tactics were also inefficient.”스포츠토토
In the end, he expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “The public opinion is that Vietnam has declined overall, from the U-23 national team to the A national team, compared to the era of coach Park Hang-seo.” “The height and physical strength of the players selected by Coach Trussier this time are both inferior to their seniors. They are not yet eligible to participate in the third qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup as well as the Asian Cup finals next year.” “I can’t see it,” he said.
Meanwhile, coach Trussier said after the Korea match, “We played against a top-level team and the results were not good. Korea is a good team. We are in the process of building a new team. We are preparing for the World Cup. We will make sure that today’s result does not affect us.” “I will do it,” he said.