Two naturalized Malaysian stars make coach Kim 'curious': Vietnam must have immediate response plan

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues in the Vietnamese team must have seen a remarkable performance from their opponent Malaysia, with the debut of many naturalized players in the 1-1 draw with Cape Verde on May 29.

According to the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times , the decisive match between Vietnam and Malaysia at 8:00 p.m. on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the second round of Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will be very "hot" because of the strong changes of this country's team.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and the Vietnamese team will face a huge challenge from the Malaysian team.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

The Malaysian team (ranked 131st in the world ) showed a completely different face than before, when introducing some new faces, very high-quality naturalized players, in the match against the Cape Verde team (ranked 72nd in the world , competing for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup in the African qualifying round, ranked first in Group D, above the Cameroon team).

But above all, the Malaysian team is strengthened by the increasingly cohesive playing style that coach Peter Cklamovski has put effort into training through 3 concentration periods.

Malaysia team has a new wind

Notably, the appearance of naturalized Spanish player Gabriel Palmero, 23 years old, currently playing for the Tenerife team. In his debut for the Malaysian team, this player was arranged by coach Peter Cklamovski to play in the attacking midfielder position instead of his usual left-back position, but he immediately made a strong impression.

Gabriel Palmero quickly adapted to the Malaysian team's style of play. He had a chance to open the scoring in the 6th minute, but unfortunately his dangerous shot hit the post. His calm and dynamic play in midfield helped the "Harimau Malaya" midfield to compete on equal terms with the highly skilled Cape Verde players, according to the New Straits Times .

Gabriel Palmero said: "I did not encounter any difficulties with my new teammates, because we communicate with each other in English so we understand each other and understand the tactics. This is just my first match in the Malaysian team. I will continue to strive to become a better player."

Meanwhile, 36-year-old Brazilian-born striker Paolo Josue, who scored the equalizer for Malaysia against Cape Verde, said: "After this match, we have shown our current position. Everything is going very smoothly, we are very confident with the preparation process before the match against Vietnam and continue to strive to win a place in the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup."

Paolo Josue has so far played 26 times for the Malaysian national team, scoring 10 goals, and has maintained a stable performance. This striker, along with other foreign-born strikers such as Fergus Tierney (from Scotland), Romel Morales (Colombia) and possibly Rodrigo Holgado, 29 years old, of Argentine origin from the Colombian club America de Cali, who will complete his naturalization in early June, will significantly strengthen the Malaysian national team.

These Malaysian players will certainly make coach Kim Sang-sik pay close attention and calculate solutions to neutralize them.

The Malaysian team is determined to change the history of confrontation with the Vietnamese team. In the last 8 meetings, the "Golden Star Warriors" are undefeated with a record of 7 wins and 1 draw. In total, in the history of confrontation, the Vietnamese team won 15 matches against Malaysia, drew 3 and lost only 5.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hai-ngoi-sao-nhap-tich-malaysia-khien-hlv-kim-to-mo-viet-nam-phai-co-ngay-phuong-an-ung-pho-185250531225520731.htm