Vietnam lose 0-3 to Indonesia in World Cup Qualifiers, coach Troussier sacked

Vietnamese (red) and Indonesian players vie for the ball. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - The Vietnamese national football team's hope for a berth in the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers are dimming after it lost 0-3 to Indonesia at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on March 26 evening.

Despite Philippe Troussier's insistence on redirecting the press' questions on his future, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) announced to the press later on that it had terminated the French coach’s contract, effective immediately.

Back to the match, the Vietnamese side hungry for victory pushed forward in the first five minutes. However, mistakes in defence brought Indonesia two goals in the first half by Jay Idzes and Ragnar Oratmangoen, before Ramadhan Sananta ended the nightmare at the My Dinh National Stadium with a late goal in the second half.

Troussier, in his final match as Vietnam’s head coach, brought on his, perhaps, almost-best personnel, with superstar Nguyen Quang Hai still on the bench.

Many fans predicted a loss, with some even wanting Vietnam to lose so Troussier would be sacked, but few people could have predicted that the Golden Star Warriors would capitulate at home.

Indonesia, powered by their new naturalised players, was a vastly different team than the Indonesia team of just a few years earlier. Three of them constituted the defining factor that brought and doubled the Garudas' lead right in the first half.

In the 9th minute, Thom Haye's corner met the goliath 1.91 metre Jay Idzes, whose towering header gave Filip Nguyen no chance and opened the score for Indonesia.

Fourteen minutes later, Ragnar Oratmangoen, who is playing in the Dutch Erepisie for Fortuna Sittard, collected the ball easily and danced past three Vietnamese defenders before firing the ball in the back of Filip Nguyen's net and making it 2-0 for the away team.

Troussier made changes after his team conceded twice, but the changes were mind-boggling as Nguyen Dinh Bac replaced a very on-form Vu Van Thanh right in the 31st minute, and defender Vo Minh Trong was brought on for midfielder Khuat Van Khang in a situation where Vietnam desperately needed a goal.

Vietnam had 69% of possession, and 13 shots, but still could not find Ernando Ari's net. The Golden Star Warriors' best chance was Nguyen Tien Linh's close-range shot in the 28th minute that went horrendously wide.

The last 20 minutes was haunting for Vietnamese fans, as thousands left the stadium, and the anti-Troussier chants and banners were loud and clear. On the bench, Nguyen Quang Hai shed tears in disbelief, as the substitutions ran out and he was not brought in, but left to watch his team suffer.

Indonesia put the final dagger in the heart of Vietnamese fans in the eighth minute of added time, again from a corner by Thom Haye. Chaos ensued in front of Filip's goal and Sananta was able to capitalise with a tap-in, finalising the score at 3-0.

With this result, Vietnam's chance to advance to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers is very slim. Whoever replaces Troussier at the helm must win the last two matches against the Philippines and Iraq in June, while their opponent Indonesia cannot get more than one point in their final two matches.

Troussier, nicknamed "The White Wizard", ended his one-year tenure as the Vietnamese national football team’s head coach with the worst win percentage of any coach in the team's history, at just 31%.

With his sacking, the Vietnam Under-23s head coach position is also in doubt, as the 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup is also nearing.