Coaches of two teams hold press conference, share before Vietnam vs Iraq match

On November 20, head coach Philippe Troussier answered the media at a press conference before the match with the Iraqi team in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

Coach Philippe Troussier and young midfielder Nguyen Thai Son held a press conference before the match between Vietnam and Iraq. (Source: VFF)

Coach Philippe Troussier is confident about the Vietnamese team’s preparations and hopes that the fans will support and inspire the team when playing at home. He affirmed that the team will make every effort to get a good result against a strong opponent from West Asia.

Head coach Philippe Troussier said: Iraq can be considered as one of the top 5-6 teams in Asia. Therefore, Iraq is considered higher than the Vietnamese team. They have many players with experience playing in Europe and have also won the Asian championship.

Having won points against the Philippines team helped the Vietnamese players feel more confident and the whole team was ready, trying their best to achieve good results.

Since taking charge of the Vietnamese team, coach Philippe Troussier has tried to build a style of play based on the players' ability to control the ball. This is also a style of play that has many similarities with the Iraqi team.

He shared, controlling the ball makes the opponent play like us, also does not allow the opponent to attack and is a way of defending. The strong teams in the world all control the ball, not easy for the opponent to take the ball.

The players need to have good ability and ball control, which will help us confidently compete with the top teams in the region. Coach Philippe Troussier said: "Our goal is to finish second in the group with the best results to be present in the third qualifying round."

In the opening match on the Philippines field, coach Philippe Troussier chose a surprising lineup. He even used 6 U23 players: Vo Minh Trong, Nguyen Thai Son, Phan Tuan Tai, Nguyen Van Tung, Nguyen Dinh Bac and Ho Van Cuong.

However, the Vietnamese team was still confident in holding the ball, coordinating attacks and opening the score thanks to Nguyen Van Toan, before sealing the 2-0 victory with a shot by young talent Nguyen Dinh Bac in the extra minutes of the second half.

Attending the press conference, young midfielder Nguyen Thai Son shared: Iraq is a strong opponent. They just beat Indonesia with a score of 5-1. The whole team has carefully studied the Iraqi team and prepared well for the match. The advantage of the Vietnamese team is that they play at home and will receive the support of the fans. The goal of the whole team is to try to play their best.

Answering the press at the press conference, coach Jesus Casas of the Iraqi team commented: The match against Vietnam promises to be interesting because both teams won in the first round. Vietnam has a squad of quality players and a playing style quite similar to Iraq - focusing on ball control.

In the opening match, Iraq had a bigger win than Vietnam and had more time to rest, but that does not guarantee victory. Of course, Iraq will play for the goal of winning all 3 points. But Vietnam has a huge advantage in the support of the audience from the stands, so Iraq will not have an easy 90 minutes on November 21.

The match between Vietnam and Iraq will take place at 7pm on November 21 at My Dinh National Stadium ( Hanoi ). The Vietnamese players will take the field in their traditional red uniforms.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/vong-loai-world-cup-2026-huan-luyen-vien-hai-doi-tuyen-hop-bao-chia-se-truoc-tran-dau-viet-nam-vs-iraq-250700.html