Vietnam Team: Attacking Malaysia's fatal flaw

The Malaysian team is changing rapidly with 5 naturalized foreign players, but this is also a good opportunity for the Vietnamese team to attack the opponent's fatal weakness.

Coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that the Vietnamese team wants to defeat Malaysia at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Photo: Minh Tu

Vietnam team faces Malaysia with a strong Western style

The Malaysian team is looking to change the 10-year history of not being able to defeat the Vietnamese team, including the defeat in the 2018 AFF Cup final or the 2-3 loss and giving coach Park Hang-seo and his team their first ticket to the 3rd qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup.

Unable to sit still while Indonesia is transforming strongly and reaching the elite of the continent, Thailand and Vietnam continue to be powerful, taking turns winning the AFF Cup 2022 and 2024, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) with new President Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub has decided to join the naturalization race.

The Malaysian team also has a new team with a mostly Western style, including head coach Peter Cklamovski (Australia) and CEO Rob Friend (Canada).

The revolution has now begun to take shape with the official announcement of five naturalized foreign players, including two players currently playing in South America: striker Rodrigo Holgado (America de Cali Club, Colombia) and Imanol Machuca (Vélez Sarsfield, Argentina).

Naturalized players currently make up 70-80% of the Malaysian squad.

Photo: AFP

In addition, "Harimau Malaya" has 3 more players playing in Europe, including left-back Gabriel Palmero (Tenerife B Club, Spain), center-back Facundo Garces (Deportivo Alaves, Spain) and midfielder Hector Hevel (Portimonense, Portugal).

These five players have brought the number of naturalized players in the Malaysian squad to 14, with those who have joined previously including centre-back Mathiew Davies, right midfielder Dion Cools (Belgium), centre-back Nooa Laine (Finland), left midfielder La'Vere Corbin-Ong (England), Endrick dos Santos (Brazil), Romel Morales (Colombia), Paulo Josué (Brazil), Daniel Ting (England), Stuart Wilkin (England)...

Hitting the Time Gap

However, besides expectations, the changes with many faces from new cultures leading to the reduction of local players are also causing concerns for a part of Malaysian experts and media.

This was demonstrated through two closed friendly matches with Cape Verde (ranked 72nd in the world ), with a 1-1 draw on May 29 and the most recent 0-3 loss two days ago. Malaysian press reported that new player Imanol Machuca could not play because of his physical condition while other new players also needed time to integrate.

Vietnam team actively practices in Hanoi

Photo: Minh Tu

This was also confirmed by writer Kin Fai of Goal: "The quality of the new players is still a question mark, we all have to wait until they enter the real battle with the Vietnamese team on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

But one thing is for sure, it will be very difficult for those players along with the rest of the Malaysian team to find a common rhythm in a short time. The limited time will be a big challenge for coach Cklamovski."

Officially leading "Harimau Malaya" since December 16, 2024, Coach Cklamovski had 3 matches with his new students, including the debut match winning 2-0 against Nepal with Hector Hevel receiving the title of Best Player.

As an assistant to former Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou, Mr. Cklamovski has experience leading J-League clubs. But leading a national team that is transforming strongly with many new players is a different story.

Hai Long will shine again at Bukit Jalil Stadium

Photo: Minh Tu

The example of Indonesia that Malaysia is following also took a lot of time to assemble and experience in real combat so that coach Kim Sang-sik and now Patrick Kluivert can gradually adjust to find a common voice and move towards harmony.

In fact, the Vietnamese team will arrive in Malaysia at an extremely sensitive time for this opponent, when coach Cklamovski is rushing to get acquainted with his new students as well as 80% of the naturalized players getting to know each other alongside a minority of local players who are playing an increasingly obscure role.

Therefore, if they have a wise and correct approach, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team can completely launch attacks that directly hit Malaysia's weak points, thereby aiming for victory right on the opponent's field to open wide the door to the 2027 Asian Cup.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-tan-cong-vao-ke-ho-chi-mang-cua-malaysia-185250605171759511.htm