HANOI – Frenchman Philippe Troussier’s reign as Vietnam coach is over after barely a year in charge following back-to-back losses to Indonesia in World Cup qualifying.
Vietnam’s hopes of reaching the next qualifying stage were left hanging by a thread after a 3-0 home defeat by the Indonesians on March 26, five days after losing 1-0 away to the same opponents.
It was their first home loss to their regional rivals in nearly 20 years and angry Vietnamese fans chanted afterwards for the 69-year-old Troussier to be sacked.
The country’s football chiefs held talks with the coach in the aftermath and issued a statement saying they had agreed to terminate his contract.
“Mr Philippe Troussier thanked the support from the players, clubs, football federation as well as the fans,” Vietnam’s football federation said in a statement.
“He also apologised to Vietnamese fans because the team’s work did not meet expectations.”
The vastly experienced Troussier, who has managed two dozen teams or countries, was also Vietnam’s Under-23 coach. He signed a three-year deal to lead the senior national team in February 2023, saying he wanted to take them to the first World Cup in their history.
However, Vietnam are now third in qualifying Group F on three points from four matches.
The first two finishers in each of the nine groups advance to the third round of qualifiers for the 2026 Finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, where Asia will have eight guaranteed slots at the 48-team World Cup.
Iraq top the group on 12 points and are through, with Indonesia on the verge of joining them in second place with seven points.
In Group A, Qatar advanced to the third phase of qualifiers with a 2-1 victory over Kuwait as Iran, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates also joined Iraq and Australia in securing progress to the next round.
Almoez Ali twice put Marquez Lopez’s Asian Cup holders ahead in Kuwait City to maintain his side’s perfect record in the group and seal top spot after India suffered a 2-1 loss against Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan claimed a 3-0 win over Hong Kong in Tashkent, ensuring they would take one of the two berths available in Group E. They will be joined in the next round from the group by Iran, with both teams on 10 points after Mehdi Ghayedi scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Turkmenistan in Ashgabat.
Fabio Lima netted a brace to take the UAE through from Group H, having defeated Yemen 3-0 in the Saudi Arabian city of Khobar, as Bahrain strengthened their grip on second place with a 3-0 victory over Nepal.
Saudi Arabia, however, will have to wait until their meeting with Pakistan on June 6 for another opportunity to book a berth in the next round, after Rustam Soirov’s 80th-minute equaliser earned Tajikistan a 1-1 draw against Roberto Mancini’s side.
The Saudis would have qualified with a win in Dushanbe but still lead Group G by three points from Jordan, who thrashed Pakistan 7-0 in Amman. AFP, REUTERS
