Coach Kim Sang Sik: "I am surprised by the quality of Malaysian naturalized players"

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Appearing at the press conference after the match, coach Kim Sang Sik could not hide his sadness: "First of all, as the head coach of the whole team, I feel sorry for the Vietnamese fans who traveled a long way to watch the team compete in Malaysia, as well as the fans watching on television.

In the first half of the match, we were still able to deploy the team as planned, but in the second half, with the injuries of Tien Dung and Thanh Chung, the Vietnamese team had difficulty deploying the team. That was also one of the reasons why we failed."

HLV Kim Sang Sik: Tôi bất ngờ về chất lượng cầu thủ nhập tịch Malaysia - 1 — Coach Kim Sang Sik apologizes to Vietnamese fans (Photo: VFF).

Ahead of the rematch at home in March 2026, coach Kim Sang Sik still expressed confidence: "Regarding how to prepare for the second leg in Hanoi , first, I think we need to accept the fact that the Malaysian team has become stronger thanks to the new naturalized players.

However, football always has room for miracles to happen. If the Vietnamese team prepares well for the match against Hanoi, I think we still have a chance to make up for the 4 goals we lost today."

Traveling to Bukit Jalil Stadium, coach Kim Sang Sik was missing many key players due to injuries. As the match progressed, the Vietnamese team suffered consecutive losses as Bui Tien Dung and Thanh Chung left the field one after another.

The red team was forced to play on the field and Nguyen Filip continuously made excellent saves, helping the Vietnamese team maintain a 0-0 draw after the first half. 4 minutes into the second half, Joao Figueiredo took the ball from Ngoc Quang, rushed down, shot the ball and hit Duy Manh's foot, the ball jumped over Nguyen Filip's head and into the net, helping Malaysia lead 1-0.

10 minutes later, Xuan Manh slipped and the Malaysian players easily approached the Vietnamese team's goal, Holgado passed Nguyen Filip and shot the ball into the net from a narrow angle, doubling the gap. In the 67th minute, Arif Aiman assisted Lawrence Corbin-Ong to easily score near the left post, helping Malaysia easily lead 3-0.

The Vietnamese team tried hard to find an equalizer, but Tien Linh and Tuan Hai both failed to score. In the 89th minute, Endrick crossed the ball from the right wing, Dion Cools jumped high and headed the ball unmarked, leaving Nguyen Filip helpless, sealing a 4-0 victory for Malaysia.

With a squad of naturalized players from Europe and South America, Malaysia completely dominated the game at Bukit Jalil Stadium and this victory helped them gain 6 points, rising to the top of Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. The Vietnamese team fell to second with 3 points and must make efforts in the remaining 4 matches to compete for the top spot in the group.