The most formidable opponent of the Vietnamese team has been revealed

THE MALAYSIA TEAM WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT

While the Vietnamese team won convincingly, the Malaysian team was eliminated in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2024 with a forgettable result: winning only 1 group stage match against Timor Leste, losing to Thailand and being held to a draw by Singapore and Cambodia. However, it would be hasty to underestimate the strength of the "Tigers".

The Malaysian team (right) is changing.

Because at the 2024 AFF Cup, the Malaysian team does not have the strongest force. The players currently playing for Johor Darul Tazim Club (JDT) are not called up to the national team, meaning Malaysia has lost half of its strength. JDT is the team that has won the Malaysian championship for 10 consecutive years and is currently in the middle of the AFC Champions League Elite group with impressive performances. The team from Johor state has many national players (both native and naturalized players), and without the pillars from JDT Club, Malaysia is naturally weakened.

However, in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, with matches within the framework of FIFA Days, the pillars of the Malaysian team will return. To strengthen the team with the goal of winning a ticket to the Asian Cup finals, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will welcome more naturalized players. Recently, JDT Club President Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim confirmed that he is promoting the naturalization of 6 to 7 players with half-Malaysian blood. If supported by the Malaysian government , these players can complete the paperwork in time for Malaysia's opening match in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, taking place in March at Nepal's stadium. If delayed, the naturalized players will be in time to wear the "Tiger" jersey in June, in the important match against Vietnam.

The naturalization policy over the past decade has brought many potential faces to the Malaysian team, such as Declan Lambert, Daniel Ting, Dominic Tan, Stuart Wilkin, Darren Lok, La'Vere Corbin-Ong, Dion Cools and Matthew Davies. Combined with the source of naturalized stars that will be added soon, Malaysia can field a squad... entirely of players of European origin.

C IMAGE

The Malaysian national team and youth teams also received good news, with an investment of 30 million ringgit (169 billion VND) in 2025 with the goal of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup. This is a huge number, becoming the foundation for a comprehensive revolution at FAM. Coach Peter Cklamovski was appointed to the "hot seat". The Australian-Macedonian coach spent 6 years coaching teams in Japan's top league such as Shimizu S-Pulse or FC Tokyo, with his professional level and impressive experience as an assistant to coach Ange Postecoglou (currently leading Tottenham) at the Australian national team. FAM also appointed a new executive director and fitness expert.

The goal of "Tiger" is to defeat Vietnam to get a ticket to Asian Cup 2027. Because each group in the final qualifying round only selects the first team to continue, the race between Malaysia and Vietnam will be very fierce.

The Vietnamese team will compete with Malaysia in June at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the second round, then face this opponent again in March 2026 at home. Although Vietnam has a superior head-to-head record against Malaysia (undefeated for a decade), away matches at the "Tiger" Stadium are always difficult for Quang Hai and his teammates. Most of Vietnam's victories against Malaysia took place at home or on neutral grounds. When playing at Bukit Jalil Stadium with the top enthusiasm in Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese team only had a 2-2 draw (in 2018) in the most recent visit.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/asian-cup-2027-doi-thu-dang-ngai-nhat-cua-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-lo-dien-185250118234542515.htm