"Coach Kim Sang-sik stays calm in the face of Malaysia's disturbing naturalization dance"
The Malaysian newspaper, New Straits Times, has made such an assessment. Journalist Farah Azharie's article also stated: "While Harimau Malaya (nickname of the Malaysian team) recruits more and more naturalized players, their opponent, the Vietnamese team, is only themselves - keeping calm. Coach Kim Sang-sik's team has nothing to worry about, they have been focusing and practicing calmly at the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center since May 31."
Malaysian newspaper, New Straits Times, commented that coach Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnamese team were very calm in the face of every move of their opponents.
Photo: Minh Hoang
The Malaysian team has just confirmed that they have added a brand new naturalized player of Colombian origin, Rodrigo Holgado, 29 years old, to the squad to prepare for the match against the Vietnamese team, taking place at 8pm on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the second round of Group F in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.
Rodrigo Holgado is playing for America de Cali in the Categoria Primera A (Colombian National Championship), scoring 17 goals in 44 appearances since joining the team last year. In the 2025 season, this striker also scored 7 goals and had 2 assists, helping America de Cali (who have won the Colombian championship 15 times) continue to lead the rankings.
The addition of Rodrigo Holgado brings the Malaysian national team's attack line to four naturalized players. This includes striker Paolo Josue (Brazilian, 36 years old), who has played 26 times for the Malaysian national team, scored 10 goals and is still in good form. This striker just scored the equalizer in a 1-1 draw in a friendly match with the world's 72nd ranked team Cape Verde on May 29. There are also strikers Fergus Tierney (from Scotland) and Romel Morales (Colombia).
In addition, in defense and midfield, the Malaysian team has just added naturalized players from the Netherlands, Hector Hevel and Gabriel Palmero (Spanish origin), in addition to familiar naturalized players such as Endrick (Brazil, currently playing for Ho Chi Minh City Club), Matthew Davies (Australian origin), Corbin-Ong (England)...
Vietnam national team players are practicing to prepare to face Malaysia at Bukit Jalil away stadium.
Photo: Minh Hoang
These additions have helped the Malaysian team's internal strength to be significantly stronger and different from when participating in the AFF Cup 2024.
A formidable rival in Southeast Asia
Recently, the Indonesian national team, which is preparing for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, sent a request to FAM to organize a friendly match. However, FAM rejected the invitation from the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), despite the proposal to hold the match during the FIFA Days in September, in case the Indonesian team enters the 4th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, according to the New Straits Times .
According to the assessment of PSSI President, Mr. Erick Thohir: "The Malaysian team has rebuilt its player force based on naturalized players. They have significantly increased their strength. This will certainly be a formidable opponent not only for the Indonesian team in the upcoming regional tournaments, but also for long-standing strong teams such as the Vietnamese or Thai teams".
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-malaysia-da-co-chan-sut-hang-khung-goc-colombia-hlv-kim-sang-sik-dau-dau-185250602103121676.htm
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