Malaysia to play friendly matches with teams participating in the 2026 World Cup

Malaysia will participate in a friendly tournament hosted by the Central Asian Football Federation (CAFA) with 8 teams, including teams that will participate in the 2026 World Cup such as Uzbekistan and Iran during the FIFA Days in September.

Malaysia will play friendly matches with teams participating in the 2026 World Cup. Photo: Malaysia NT .

“CAFA initially sent an invitation to Russia but did not receive an acceptance. Instead, Malaysia and Oman confirmed their participation as guests, along with six representatives from the Central Asian region: Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The tournament will be held in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from August 26 to September 9,” wrote Malaysian newspaper Makan Bola .

The Central Asian Football Cup is an annual tournament organized by CAFA. This year, the tournament will take place from August 26 to September 9 in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Notably, of the 8 participating teams, Uzbekistan and Iran are the two teams that have officially won tickets to the 2026 World Cup.

Participating in the Central Asian Cup is considered a valuable opportunity for Malaysia to face the top teams in the continent. In addition to the professional goals, coach Peter Cklamovski's team also hopes to improve their score on the FIFA rankings when participating in the tournament.

In addition to international competitions, Malaysia continues to promote its strategy of naturalizing players. According to the country's media, the Malaysian Football Federation plans to add 8-10 more naturalized players in the coming period.

Participating in the Central Asian Cup along with adding foreign players shows that Malaysia is determined to make a strong start, aiming for the Asian Cup while affirming its ambition to reach the continental arena.

Previously, Malaysia surprised everyone by calling up 18 naturalized players, including 7 new players who debuted just a few days before the match against Vietnam in Bukit Jalil on June 10. With a squad of players of South American and European origin, the yellow team defeated the Vietnamese team 4-0, rising to the top of Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers.

Source: https://znews.vn/malaysia-da-giao-huu-voi-cac-doi-du-world-cup-2026-post1561990.html