Losing to Indonesia, Vietnam Coach Calls Egy's Goal the Differentiating Factor

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Vietnam national team coach Philippe Troussier considered Egy Maulana Vikri's only goal when his team lost 0-1 to Indonesia in the 2026 World Cup qualifying match, to be the differentiating factor that made his team defeat.

Indonesia won 1-0 in the match at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Jakarta, Thursday (21/3/2024) evening. This victory made the Garuda troops move up to second place in Group F standings ahead of Vietnam.

“We know that for games like this, the first goal gives an advantage to the team that scores it. The goal was created from a throw-in. We know that the ball is coming, we know that we have to fight, we know. “Japan conceded a goal from a situation like that, and I think a lot of teams in the world concede a goal like that,” Troussier said at the post-match press conference.

Troussier emphasized that his team played quite well in the first half, and were just unlucky and failed to score.

“We performed well in the first half. “We controlled the game, and Indonesia didn't have a chance,” said the former Japanese national team coach.

Even though they lost, Troussier believes that his team learned many positive lessons from the match against Indonesia. He believes this positive learning will bring success in the next match against Indonesia on March 26, as well as maintaining the opportunity to qualify for the next round.

“There is still a lot of time, so there is a chance in the next game to get more points if we win. Even though we lost, in general I think we have invested in an attitude towards the players, of course we want to be more efficient. It can be said that we will give Indonesia a lot of problems in the next match at home. That's our target,” he said.