Why Vietnam Must Abandon the Pressing Dream: Lessons from the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers

On the night of June 10, 2026, My Dinh Stadium erupted when Nguyen Tien Linh sealed a 2-1 victory over Indonesia in stoppage time. That win preserved face for the fans, but it could not mask a harsh truth: Vietnam was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the second round with just 6 points from 6 matches. I sat in front of my livestream screen in Chengdu, watching the players embrace in tears, and asked myself: are we celebrating the victory, or celebrating our escape from a dream? The Tragic Qualifying Campaign Vietnam was drawn in Group F alongside Iraq, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The results: a 3-1 win over the Philippines away, a 1-1 draw with Indonesia at My Dinh, a 0-1 loss to Iraq at home, a 0-3 loss to Iraq away, a 0-1 loss to Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno, and a 2-1 win over Indonesia in the final match. Altogether 6 points, a -2 goal difference, third place, and elimination — while Indonesia advanced to the third round for the first time in 38 years. The painful truth: Vietnam only beat the weakest team in the group, drew and lost against direct rivals. The 2-1 win over Indonesia in the final round, when the opponent had already secured qualification, says nothing about the team's true strength. The Tactical Breaking Point Based on my experience watching these matches, Vietnam's core problem lies not in physicality or technique, but in the ability to read the game and adjust tactics flexibly. Head coach Kim Sang-sik, successor to Philippe Troussier, built a traditional defensive-counterattacking style. But in the home match against Iraq, the team chose high pressing from the start — a decision that shattered the midfield and exposed vast space behind the defense. The only goal conceded came from a lightning counterattack by Iraq in the 62nd minute, when Quang Hai pushed high to press but could not track back in time. That moment was not a personal error, but the consequence of a tactical system incompatible with Vietnamese players' physical makeup. Vietnamese players are shorter, have a shorter stride, and their ability to sustain high intensity for 90 minutes lags behind West Asian teams. High pressing demands three elements: superior base fitness, exceptional reading of situations, and flawless coordinated movement. Vietnam possesses none of these at Asian level. Numbers Don't Lie Looking at the data, the physical gap between Vietnam and Iraq is clear. In the match at My Dinh, Iraq controlled 58% possession but needed only 12 shots to score once. Vietnam had 42% possession, took 9 shots, but recorded no shot on target in the second half. This reveals attacking impotence, not a lack of effort. When high pressing fails, the formation stretches, the distance between lines widens, and the counterattacking weapon that is Vietnam's natural strength also disappears. The Japan lesson is often cited as an ideal model. But fans forget that Japan spent two decades building their youth system before high pressing became their identity. They have had a professional league since 2026, systematic academies, and thousands of players in Europe. What does Vietnam have? A V-League still struggling with debt, a few private academies, and a generation of skilled players who lack the fitness to compete at high intensity for 90 minutes. The Contrarian View: I Could Be Wrong I could be wrong. Japan lost 1-4 to Colombia at the 2026 World Cup with immature pressing, and eight years later they beat Germany 2-1 at the World Cup. That comeback did not come from abandoning the philosophy, but from persistently refining it over generations. Perhaps if Vietnam dared to accept short-term failures to build a modern playing style, young players like Nguyen Thai Son or Khuat Van Khang could have 10 years to mature. But Vietnamese football does not have 10 years to wait, because the pressure for results from fans and the politicization of sport weigh heavily. The key issue is not choosing which style to play, but choosing the wrong timing and the wrong people to execute it. Applying high pressing with a squad lacking base fitness is like driving a supercar on a dirt road. Kim Sang-sik understands this, and the price he paid was fierce criticism from media who called him too pragmatic. But that very pragmatism brought home the 2026 AFF Cup title — the first trophy in 6 years — and delivered impressive winning streaks against Thailand, something Troussier's pressing style never achieved. The Future: Don't Copy, Create The 2-1 win over Indonesia, though meaningless for the World Cup goal, revealed a path. In that match, Kim Sang-sik pushed Quang Hai deep to orchestrate, let Hoang Duc roam free up front, and had Tien Linh drift wide. This flexibility created unpredictable attacks, exploiting Indonesia's physical weaknesses. No high pressing, no ambitious possession, just mutual understanding and maximizing each moment. Vietnam must abandon the dream of copying any foreign model. Instead, build a philosophy of its own based on natural strengths: deft individual technique, counterattacking speed, and team unity. The team needs a coach who understands Southeast Asian football, a systematic youth training center, and patience from fans. The World Cup dream did not die in 2026, but it will keep being postponed if we keep chasing other people's well-worn paths. When Chengdu lost power that night, I fumbled for a flashlight and realized: sometimes football is like electricity — the harder you try to transmit it through a foreign system, the easier it breaks. Let's generate our own energy.