Coach Philippe Troussier only decided to eliminate striker Nguyen Cong Phuong before the afternoon training session on March 18 took place.
According to VTC News’ research, among the 5 eliminated players of the Vietnamese team, there are 3 cases where coach Philippe Troussier decided early. They are Do Duy Manh, Giap Tuan Duong and Truong Tien Anh. All three of these players suffered minor injuries before joining the team and only practiced 2 sessions.
Nguyen Cong Phuong was also in pain, but Mr. Troussier decided to wait until the day he left for Indonesia to make a decision. Initially, the French military leader still considered bringing Cong Phuong with the team.
Ankle injuries are not too complicated injuries. Cong Phuong himself believes that he can play at least one match. Cong Phuong proactively asked to continue practicing. In fact, bringing 28 or 29 players is not an important issue.
On the afternoon of March 18, Coach Troussier met each player individually, told them the reason for eliminating them and gave words of encouragement to his students. As for Cong Phuong, the French military leader still wants to wait for the final conclusion from the medical department. When all four remaining players packed their bags, said goodbye to their teammates and left the Vietnamese team’s training area, Mr. Troussier’s decision regarding Cong Phuong was still undecided.
In the end, Cong Phuong did not participate in the training session and accepted to leave the Vietnamese team. The video of Mr. Troussier announcing the Vietnamese team list for the two matches against Indonesia was filmed not long before broadcast on VFF channels.
This strategist’s decision is similar to what he did with Nguyen Hoang Duc. In the morning, he still decided to take Hoang Duc to Qatar for the 2023 Asian Cup. The midfielder, born in 1998, only knew he was eliminated after nap time. He met his teacher in person. Mr. Troussier changed his decision when the medical department predicted many risks that Hoang Duc might encounter if he tried to compete.
Indeed, Hoang Duc can still play friendly matches for Viettel The Cong Club after that. However, the performance of the Vietnam Golden Ball 2023 has been declining for a long time. He has not shown his class and has only played better in the last 2 matches.
List of 28 players of the Vietnamese team.
The Vietnamese team left for Indonesia on the morning of March 19. The first leg match between the two teams takes place at 8:30 p.m. on March 21.
