Park Hang-seo avoids question about returning as head coach of Vietnam

Vietnam's national head coach position is vacant at the moment. After the team lost 0-3 to Indonesia on Tuesday in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam Football Federation and coach Troussier agreed to terminate the contract early.

When asked by VnExpress about the possibility of returning to the national team at a ceremony of Bac Ninh FC, for whom Park is a senior consultant, on Wednesday, Park changed the subject. The second time, he smiled and replied "thank you" and said he did not want to answer questions about the national team.

Park became Vietnam national head coach at the end of 2017, and achieved immense success with second place at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, the 2018 AFF Cup title, the top eight of the 2019 Asian Cup, and two gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games. He also brought the team to the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup for the first time in history.

After his contract expired in early 2023, he decided to leave the national team.

Park has not accepted an offer to coach another team since, despite rumors of receiving offers from Thailand, China, Indonesia and Singapore. In February, he was one of two candidates to be the interim coach of the South Korea national team, after Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked following Asian Cup failure, with Hwang Sun-hong eventually chosen.

Park is currently focusing on the youth football academy named after him and his job as a senior advisor for Bac Ninh FC in Vietnam’s second division.