Coach Kim Sang Sik, please choose wisely.

Failure from Mr. Troussier

The end of the first match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with a 2-0 victory for the Vietnamese team against the Philippines was not surprising in terms of expertise, but in terms of age, it was different.

Coach Troussier's team when leaving the field had more than half of the squad being U23 players, so the average age was only 23.8 - an unprecedented low in history.

Veterans are not or are rarely used and have to give way to young players under coach Troussier such as Van Toan, Quang Hai... Photo: SN

However, after the victory with this young squad, the Vietnamese team fell into a crisis of performance with 6 consecutive defeats in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers to the Asian Cup, causing Mr. Troussier to lose his seat.

The biggest reason lies in the fact that the young players trusted by the French coach, in addition to their poor skills, also lack experience, so they conceded many unnecessary goals, leading to defeat.

...to a lesson for coach Kim Sang Sik

Basically, rejuvenation is necessary for the Vietnamese team in the context of key players losing form after winning many glories under coach Park Hang Seo.

But rejuvenating so strongly and quickly that it eliminates key players or players with very high performance like Mr. Troussier did is clearly unstable. And in reality, the Vietnamese team under the French strategist did not leave much of an impression.

will be used again under coach Kim Sang Sik.

What Mr. Troussier has done, perhaps coach Kim Sang Sik needs to learn his own lessons to help his team win, be more motivated based on fairness in choosing and using players... in the future.

The Vietnamese team must have the best players, ensuring expertise, form or meeting tactical requirements instead of being constrained by age or vague rejuvenation criteria.

By doing this, besides the Vietnamese team having the strongest lineup to regain their winning streak, coach Kim Sang Sik can also create high competition among the players instead of lacking motivation like under Mr. Troussier.