Coach Philippe Trussier, who leads the Vietnam national soccer team, evaluated the Korean national soccer team as ‘world class’ and expressed his gratitude for having a friendly match.메이저놀이터
Coach Trussier attended a pre-press conference held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 16th with defender Do Dui Man (Hanoi FC) ahead of the friendly match against South Korea to be held at Suwon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 17th.
The Korean national team invited Tunisia and Vietnam to their home country for the international match period in October. First, in a friendly match against Tunisia held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 13th, Klinsmann won 4-0 thanks to Lee Kang-in (PSG)’s multiple goals, the opponent’s own goal, and Hwang Ui-jo (Norwich City)’s key goal.
With the complete win against Tunisia, Klinsmann succeeded in his second consecutive win in international matches, following a 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia last September. In addition, Klinsmann gifted home fans with an international match victory in 7 games since taking office as Korea’s head coach.
The national team, which achieved a pleasant victory against Tunisia, will now attempt to win its third consecutive international match against Vietnam. Vietnam, ranked 95th in the FIFA rankings, 69 steps below Korea, ranked 26th, planned three consecutive games – against China, against Uzbekistan, and against Korea – during the October international match period. They lost 0-2 against China in an away game held in Dalian, China on the 10th, and then came to Korea after losing 0-2 in a neutral game against Uzbekistan also held in Dalian on the 13th.
To Korean fans, the Vietnam national soccer team is well known as the team under coach Park Hang-seo until last January. Coach Park led the Vietnam national team for about five years from the fall of 2017 to January 2023.
Under Coach Park, Vietnam succeeded in entering its heyday. During Coach Park’s tenure, Vietnam won the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup once and was runner-up once, won two consecutive titles in men’s soccer at the Southeast Asian Games, was runner-up at the U-19 Asian Cup, and advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Games men’s soccer and the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup. I made good grades.
Also, when Coach Park took office as Vietnam’s head coach, he declared, “My goal is to be in the top 100 in the FIFA rankings,” and he kept his promise. Vietnam, which was ranked 130th before Director Park’s appointment, has now risen to 95th place five years later, and its highest ranking was 92nd (2021).
After Coach Park left, the coach in charge of the Vietnam national team is Coach Trussier. Coach Trussier, who is in charge of both the national team and the under-23 team (U-23), is famous in Korea for leading the Japanese national team to the round of 16 at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Coach Trussier, who was filled with emotions about coming to Korea and playing for a long time, could not hide his joy at playing against the Korean national soccer team, which is especially recognized not only in Asia but also around the world.
Coach Trussier said, “Playing against Korea is a huge opportunity. Everyone will do their best. This is not a test. Instead, I am looking forward to whether the players will be able to show their skills on the pitch as well as possible.” The Vietnamese players did not hide their expectations of competing with world-class Taegeuk warriors.
The following is a Q&A with Director Trussier.
-Please give your thoughts ahead of the game.
We are facing a match against a very strong team against Korea, and we will try to finish very well. I prepared as much as possible against a world-class team. The most important thing is that we focused on preparing for what we were unable to do in the last two games.
The reason is that we are currently rebuilding the Vietnamese national team, so we brought in new players, and since it is a step-by-step process of building the team, we prepared accordingly. The fundamental goal is to grow through this process and games, and through this, the goal is to become a force that can compete with even strong teams.
-There was a time when I was in charge of the Japanese national team (1998-2002). Although more than 20 years have passed, what do you think are the differences between Korea then and Korea now?
Of course, compared to 20 years ago, Korean players are now recognized in Europe, and we can see that the standard has been greatly improved to the point where they are classified as the best players in Europe. This is proven by Korea’s continued participation in the World Cup. The basic skills of players are increasing every year, and very promising young players are emerging.
Of course, the difference with small countries may seem large at the moment, but I believe that the difference is decreasing as time goes by, and although there is a lot of catching up to do in the technological aspect, I expect it to get better over time.
-I heard that the Vietnamese players are looking forward to playing against Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), but it is unclear whether Son Heung-min will play due to injury.
There are a lot of new players in the current Vietnamese national team, and I am thankful that these players are competing against a strong team like Korea. I believe this will be a good foundation for building a team in the future.
In particular, countries like China, Uzbekistan, and Korea can be seen as having strengths that cannot be shown off, but these are all opportunities for growth, and this Asia tour was planned for growth. I will focus on maximizing this opportunity as much as possible and solidifying the learning process for our team.
-I would like to ask what the biggest purpose of the Korean War was. Is this some kind of test match like the last match against China and Uzbekistan where many young players were used?
All of this is a process of becoming a team. Playing against Korea is a huge opportunity, so everyone will do their best regardless of the youth. This is not a test. Instead, we are looking forward to whether the players will be able to show their skills on the pitch as well.