Vietnamese (red) and Indonesian players vie for the ball. (Photo: VNA) DespitePhilippe Troussier's insistence on redirecting the press' questions on hisfuture, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) announced to the press later onthat it had terminated the French coach’s contract, effective immediately.
Back to thematch, the Vietnamese side hungry for victory pushed forward in the first fiveminutes. However, mistakes in defence brought Indonesia two goals in the firsthalf by Jay Idzes and Ragnar Oratmangoen, before Ramadhan Sananta ended thenightmare 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 fanspredicted a loss, with some even wanting Vietnam to lose so Troussier would besacked, but few people could have predicted that the Golden Star Warriors wouldcapitulate at home.
Indonesia,powered by their new naturalised players, was a vastly different team than theIndonesia team of just a few years earlier. Three of them constituted thedefining factor that brought and doubled the Garudas' lead right in the first half.
In the 9thminute, Thom Haye's corner met the goliath 1.91 metre Jay Idzes, whose toweringheader gave Filip Nguyen no chance and opened the score for Indonesia.
Fourteenminutes later, Ragnar Oratmangoen, who is playing in the Dutch Eredivisie forFortuna Sittard, collected the ball easily and danced past three Vietnamesedefenders before firing the ball in the back of Filip Nguyen's net and makingit 2-0 for the away team.
Troussiermade changes after his team conceded twice, but the changes were mind-bogglingas Nguyen Dinh Bac replaced a very on-form Vu Van Thanh right in the 31stminute, and defender Vo Minh Trong was brought on for midfielder Khuat VanKhang in a situation where Vietnam desperately needed a goal.
Vietnam had69% 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 shotin the 28th minute that went horrendously wide.
The last 20minutes was haunting for Vietnamese fans, as thousands left the stadium, andthe anti-Troussier chants and banners were loud and clear. On the bench, NguyenQuang Hai shed tears in disbelief, as the substitutions ran out and he was notbrought in, but left to watch his team suffer.
Indonesiaput the final dagger in the heart of Vietnamese fans in the eighth minute ofadded time, again from a corner by Thom Haye. Chaos ensued in front of Filip'sgoal and Sananta was able to capitalise with a tap-in, finalising the score at3-0.
With thisresult, Vietnam's chance to advance to the third round of the World CupQualifiers is very slim. Whoever replaces Troussier at the helm must win thelast two matches against the Philippines and Iraq in June, while their opponentIndonesia cannot get more than one point in their final two matches.
Troussier,nicknamed "The White Wizard", ended his one-year tenure as the Vietnamesenational football team’s head coach with the worst win percentage of any coachin the team's history, at just 31%.
With hissacking, the Vietnam Under-23s head coach position is also in doubt, as the2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup is also nearing./.
VNA
