Who else can the Vietnamese team naturalize to beat Malaysia?

The 0-4 defeat to Malaysia could speed up the naturalization process of foreign and overseas Vietnamese players in the Vietnam national team.

Vietnam team: Weak and lacking

The heavy 4-0 defeat at Bukit Jalil against Malaysia not only narrowed the door to the 2027 Asian Cup for the Vietnamese team, but also revealed many problems in coach Kim Sang-sik's team.

First of all, the force is thin. The storm of injuries hit, taking away Nguyen Xuan Son, Vu Van Thanh, Doan Ngoc Tan before the match, then Nguyen Thanh Chung, Bui Tien Dung during the match.

Vietnam team (red shirt) lost heavily

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

From center backs, wingers, midfielders to strikers, no line of the Vietnamese team has escaped the situation of being broken. Coach Kim Sang-sik has not been able to turn the situation around, as his squad lacks depth. The gap between the main players and the reserve team is too large.

Then there is physical strength and motivation. The same players who won the AFF Cup 2024 are now exhausted because they are in the final stage of the V-League. The players have been training and competing continuously, with a frequency of about 40 matches from September until now without any break of more than 3 weeks. "The players are all very tired, when the tournament has entered the final stage," a player shared. At the same time, the motivation of some stars is also a question mark, with a superficial attitude, lack of determination and seemingly wanting to keep them.

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However, let’s face it: even if they play with determination, the Vietnamese team will probably not avoid defeat because of the huge gap. With 17 naturalized players, 9 of whom are starting players and 4 others coming off the bench, Malaysia is no different from the B or C squad of a South American or European team.

Mr. Kim's sadness

Joao Figueiredo is playing for Istanbul Basaksehir in Türkiye and is valued at 2 million euros (about 56 billion VND). Facundo Garces is playing for Alaves (LaLiga), and just last week he locked down famous strikers such as Julian Alvarez (2022 World Cup champion) or Alexander Sorloth, Erling Haaland's teammate in the Norwegian national team.

"The naturalized Malaysian player performed better than we thought," coach Kim Sang-sik admitted his mistake.

Can it be stronger?

The best players of the Vietnamese team in last night's match (June 10) were Nguyen Filip and Cao Pendant Quang Vinh. They are both naturalized players, having played in Europe for at least 8 years and having European genes, with natural physique, strength and flexible muscles.

Only players with 50% or 100% foreign blood in the Vietnamese team are strong enough to resist. As for the pure domestic players, most of them have lost motivation after the AFF Cup, are satisfied with their current life and no longer have the need to develop their careers (some have even been relegated to the first division), it is not easy for coach Kim Sang-sik to have "powder" to make "paste".

Naturalization is the shortest but most effective way to find a chance to turn the tables. In the rematch against Malaysia, Xuan Son will return, alongside Filip and Quang Vinh.

Quang Vinh's efforts are not enough

PHOTO: NGOC LINH

In addition, the Vietnamese team also has Hendrio, a player who will have played for 5 years in Vietnam by the end of this year, who is in the "queue" for naturalization. The procedure for Hendrio is being promoted.

Geovane Magno, a midfielder who has played for Hanoi, The Cong Viettel and now Ha Tinh, is also a potential candidate. He has played in the V-League since mid-2019 and has contributed for 5 years.

As for the overseas Vietnamese players, Adou Minh and Kevin Pham Ba are the closest candidates to naturalization. Both are of French origin and have grown up in famous training centers in Ligue 2.

Center-back Adou Minh has played 20 matches for Ha Tinh this season, helping the central representative to the top half of the V-League rankings with the most solid defense in the league.

Kevin Pham Ba has just joined V-League in the second leg, but has already left his mark with 2 goals. The right-back born in 1994 is trying to prove himself. "Who knows, maybe now is the peak of my career. I always wanted to wear the Vietnamese national team jersey," Pham Ba affirmed.

Similar to Quang Vinh and Filip (who took 7-9 months to become naturalized), Adou Minh and Pham Ba will need at least 8 months to 1 year, depending on the club's promotion and paperwork. If both are successful in naturalization, the Vietnamese team can rematch Malaysia with a half-foreign team.

While there's life, there's hope, before the 2027 Asian Cup hopes are extinguished!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-co-the-nhap-tich-them-ai-de-thang-malaysia-185250611062259861.htm