Malaysia adds quality foreign players before match against Vietnam team

Malaysian media reported that striker Rodrigo Holgado has completed his Malaysian citizenship and is ready to play for the national team, preparing for the decisive match against the Vietnamese team.

Malaysia bổ sung ngoại binh xịn trước trận gặp đội tuyển Việt Nam - 1 — Argentine striker Rodrigo Holgado has completed the procedures for Malaysian citizenship (Photo: Asean Football).

This match will take place on June 10, at Bukit Jalil Stadium (Kuala Lumpur Malaysia). This is a match in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Rodrigo Holgado is 29 years old this year, 1m79 tall. He was born in Argentina, currently playing professionally in Colombia, for the famous team America de Cali. Currently, Rodrigo Holgado is valued at 806,000 euros (nearly 24 billion VND) by Transfermarkt.

With this price, Rodrigo Holgado is the most valuable player in the squad of the two teams Vietnam and Malaysia, preparing for the above match. On the Vietnamese team, the two most valuable players are goalkeeper Nguyen Filip and defender Cao Pendant Quang Vinh. Each of them is valued by Transfermarkt at 500,000 euros (more than 14.7 billion VND).

Malaysia bổ sung ngoại binh xịn trước trận gặp đội tuyển Việt Nam - 2 — The Malaysian team has not won against the Vietnamese team in the past 11 years (Photo: Manh Quan).

Before naturalizing striker Rodrigo Holgado, the Malaysian team has another high-quality naturalized player, left-back Gabriel Palmero. This player is of Spanish origin and currently plays for the Tenerife B team of the bullfighting country.

Despite having more naturalized players, Malaysian media is still extremely cautious about the Vietnamese team.

Malaysia’s New Straits Times commented: “The Vietnamese team has defeated the Malaysian team 7 times, out of the last 8 matches between the two teams in official tournaments. The last time Harimau Malaya (the nickname of the Malaysian team) beat the Vietnamese team was at the AFF Cup 11 years ago.”

“Malaysia hopes that the presence of striker Rodrigo Holgado will create a big change. However, do not forget that the Vietnam team is always an unknown. There is very little information related to the Vietnam team's lineup. The Malaysian team should study this opponent more carefully,” the New Straits Times wrote.

The winner of the match between Vietnam and Malaysia on June 10 will likely lead Group F of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. The group winners of the 3rd qualifying round, along with the 18 teams that have entered the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia (already determined), will qualify for the final round of the Asian Championship two years from now.