Expert: “It is normal for the Vietnamese national team to massively naturalize players”

(Dan Tri) - Malaysian football expert, Zulakbal Abdul Karim, believes that it is normal for the Vietnamese team to massively naturalize players playing abroad to take revenge on the Malaysian team.

The Malaysian team used a squad of 9 naturalized players to win 4-0 against the Vietnamese team. Many opinions believe that the “Golden Dragons” will massively naturalize to take revenge on the “Tigers” in the return leg.

Expert Zulakbal Abdul Karim believes that naturalizing players is a trend. Therefore, it is normal for the Vietnamese national team to massively naturalize players (Photo: NST).

Currently, the Vietnamese team has a number of naturalized players such as Dang Van Lam, Nguyen Filip, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh and Nguyen Xuan So. However, according to Malaysian media, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and coach Kim Sang Sik are considering expanding this list in the near future.

Expert Zulakbal Abdul Karim, who completed the Pro A professional coaching certificate in Vietnam and has many friends in Vietnam, said: “I often talk to friends working in the Vietnamese football system. It seems that they are trying to learn from Malaysia and Indonesia in looking for Vietnamese players playing abroad to naturalize.”

He also said that it is normal for the Vietnamese national team to naturalize players en masse. The expert added: “This is a common thing in football. When a strategy is effective in football, other teams will follow suit.

The Vietnamese team faced many difficulties when facing the naturalized stars of Malaysia (Photo: VFF).

It is important that we are mentally prepared.

n be ready to deal with this opponent, regardless of how they use their players. The Malaysian team defeated them with the element of surprise and superior player quality. But they also had enough time to prepare and counterattack by naturalizing players en masse. Malaysia needs to anticipate that.”

The return match between Vietnam and Malaysia will take place in March next year. If Malaysia does not stumble against Laos and Nepal, coach Kim Sang Sik's team will need to win by a margin of 4 goals or more to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chuyen-gia-tuyen-viet-nam-nhap-tich-o-at-cau-thu-la-dieu-binh-thuong-20250618192009568.htm