When four-time AFC Asian Cup™ winners Japan take on Vietnam at Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday, the Samurai Blue will come face to face with a man who played a key role in their rise on the global stage.

Philippe Troussier guided the East Asians to their second continental title as Japan beat Saudi Arabia in Beirut to win the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, before he went on to steer them into the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup on home soil for the first time.

Fast forward 22 years and the French tactician leads Vietnam into the AFC Asian Cup and, as fate would have it, the Golden Star Warriors’ opening game is against Japan as Troussier and his team – who faced the Samurai Blue in the 2019 quarter-finals – get set to meet again.

  • نویسنده : محمدمهدی اسماعیلی رها