Malaysian media expresses concern over Vietnam fielding five naturalized players.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Stadium Astro (Malaysia) is concerned that the Vietnamese national team will field five naturalized players in the decisive match against Malaysia on March 31st.

"The Vietnamese national team is reportedly planning to field five new naturalized players ahead of their crucial match against Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, scheduled to take place at Thien Truong Stadium ( Ninh Binh ) at the end of next month," Stadium Astro begins its article.

Malaysian media expresses concern over 7 Vietnamese naturalized players (Photo: Astro).

According to a Malaysian newspaper, the five naturalized players who could feature in the Vietnamese national team are Gustavo, Hendrio Araujo, Patrik Le Giang, Janclesio Almeida, and Geovane Magno. They are all between 31 and 33 years old. This is in addition to Xuan Son, who performed impressively at the 2024 AFF Cup, goalkeeper Nguyen Filip, and defender Jason Quang Vinh Pendant.

Among them, three players have completed the process of obtaining Vietnamese citizenship: center-back Gustavo (taking the name Do Phi Long), midfielder Hendrio (Do Hoang Hen), and goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang.

The remaining two cases, Geovane Magno and Janclesio Almeida, are still in the process of completing their naturalization procedures, despite having been offered assistance since the end of 2025.

Clearly, the Malaysian media is scrutinizing the Vietnamese team very closely ahead of the crucial match against their home team.

Hendrio recently acquired Vietnamese citizenship (Photo: VFF).

On the ASEAN Football website, many Southeast Asian fans have commented on the five naturalized players of the Vietnamese national team. Typical comments include:

"It seems like the Vietnamese national team is heading in the right direction."

"The Vietnamese national team is preparing thoroughly for the task of qualifying for the Asian Cup."

"If the Vietnamese national team adds five more naturalized players, they will be as strong as the Malaysian national team, which uses seven illegally naturalized players."

"Looking at this list of the Vietnamese national team, many Malaysian fans are already feeling the pressure."

Conversely, Malaysia may not be able to field the seven players who fraudulently obtained their citizenship, even though the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and FIFA have agreed to temporarily allow them to play while awaiting the final ruling. The AFC warns that if Malaysia deliberately uses these seven players, they could face additional penalties from FIFA.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-malaysia-lo-ngai-tuyen-viet-nam-tung-ra-5-cau-thu-nhap-tich-20260208195118588.htm