Philippe Trusier, who succeeded Park Hang-seo as head coach of the Vietnam national soccer team, was fired. The Japanese media was also surprised.
The Vietnam Football Association terminated Trucier’s contract on June 26 (KST). Earlier, Vietnam lost 0-3 to Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia in the fourth match of Group F of the Asian second qualifying round for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup. Tru Xie was blamed for the defeat and was effectively sacked after the team continued to struggle in the second round of qualifying.
Vietnam has never played in a World Cup tournament. The North and Central American World Cup will see a significant expansion of the field to 48 nations. The number of Asian qualifying spots will increase from 4.5 to 8.5. This time around, there were mixed hopes that the team could qualify for the World Cup. However, the team’s performance has regressed compared to the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers. In the last edition, Vietnam reached the third qualifying round. This time, however, they are in danger of being eliminated in the second round.
In the Asian Second Qualifier, the top two teams from each group advance to the Third Qualifier. Vietnam is in third place with just three points. The gap between them and second-place Indonesia (7 points) is four points. An upset is possible depending on the outcome of the remaining two matches.
The Japanese media is surprised. Trousier previously coached the Japanese national team. He led Japan to the quarterfinals of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the round of 16 at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
According to Japanese soccer publication Soccer King, “Trousier’s dismissal was reportedly triggered by the 0-3 loss to Indonesia. Another media outlet, Dosporweb, also reported that ‘Vietnam has terminated Trucier’s contract after the loss to arch-rivals Indonesia. The decision 토토 was made as the team’s chances of qualifying for the third round of the tournament became difficult. It was a de facto dismissal. Local media called the defeat a humiliation. Trucier was left with a record of 4 wins and 10 losses in 14 matches. The team’s FIFA ranking also dropped from 94th to 107th. Trucier had been criticized in Vietnam.
Vietnam, meanwhile, has made remarkable progress under former coach Park Hang-seo. Park, who took over the reins of the Vietnamese national team in 2017, had a stellar run before stepping down as head coach in January last year. The team reached the quarterfinals of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and won the 2018 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup.