The Vietnamese team practices, ready to compete in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. (Source: VFF)

The Vietnamese team will begin their journey in Group F of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup with an away match against the Philippines team.

This is also the first official match of the Vietnamese team under French coach Philippe Troussier.

Before this match, the French strategist and the Vietnamese team had gone through 6 friendly matches during FIFA Days.

Notably, in the most recent friendly matches during FIFA Days in October, the Vietnamese team lost all three matches against China (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-2) and South Korea (0-6).

However, through matches against opponents rated higher, the Vietnamese team has accumulated more experience. Therefore, the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup will be the place for coach Philippe Troussier and his team to prove themselves.

The goal that coach Philippe Troussier and his team aim for in this match is to win all 3 points, to have a favorable start in the race for a ticket to the 3rd qualifying round.

The Philippines team is considered the "easiest" opponent for the Vietnamese team in Group F of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup.

In the last 5 confrontations between the two teams, the Vietnamese team has won all the matches against the Philippines. However, the "Golden Star Warriors" cannot afford to be complacent in this rematch.

The Philippines team has had good results in their last 6 friendly matches. They have 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.

Before this match, coach Philippe Troussier said that the Vietnamese team is ready to enter the challenge in the second qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Asia after a long preparation period.

"Through the experience of training on the field and through 6 international friendly matches, I believe the whole team is ready. Tomorrow's match is the first official match, we are really excited and want to contribute the best we can," said the French coach.

Sharing about the difficulties of playing on artificial turf, Mr. Troussier said: "We also prepared with training sessions on artificial turf in Vietnam and when we came here, we had 3 more training sessions. The coaching staff reminded the whole team about how to handle the ball on this field and were ready to face it."

Also at the press conference, striker Van Toan said: “This is the first tournament of the team under the leadership of coach Philippe Troussier, so I and everyone in the team are very excited. The whole team is ready for the match.

We hope Vietnamese fans will support the team to get good results in the opening match."