Vietnam play like chickens under Troussier: CNN Indonesia

Vietnam lost four games against Indonesia, from the U23 to the national team level under Troussier and they were all crucial games.

The U23 team lost 2-3 to Indonesia in the SEA Games 32 semifinals last year despite playing with more men, missing their chance of winning three gold medals in a row.

The 0-1 defeat in the 2023 Asian Cup against Indonesia eliminated the team right from the group stage. The team's chance to enter the third World Cup qualifying round for the second consecutive time was also crushed by Indonesia with two defeats at Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta and My Dinh in Hanoi.

"Under Troussier, Vietnam became chickens in front of Indonesia," CNN Indonesia wrote. "Troussier had to step down. He couldn’t help the team become formidable but turned them into regular victims. The French coach was considered world-class when he came to Vietnam because he coached strong teams like Japan, Nigeria, Qatar and Marseille. He is expected to elevate the team, after a successful run under coach Park Hang-seo.

"But in reality, Troussier didn’t meet those expectations. Vietnam under Troussier were bullied by opponents and couldn’t meet their targets."

Troussier helped Vietnam qualify for the U23 Asian Cup, but the national team didn’t achieve good results in other tournaments. The team lost three of the past four matches in the 2026 World Cup second qualifying round and lost all three games in the 2023 Asian Cup group stage. In the last 11 games, Vietnam lost 10. Just less than three hours after the big defeat to Indonesia on Tuesday night, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) reached an agreement to terminate the contract with Troussier.

For the first time in 20 years, Indonesia beat Vietnam at My Dinh Stadium, also with a score of 3-0. After the match in 2004, Edson Tavares also had to quit his job as Vietnam head coach like Troussier.

Another coincidence is that in 2004, Troussier was also sacked by Qatar after losing to Indonesia at the Asian Cup.