Malaysia pushes to naturalize foreign players before big match with Vietnam team

The number of naturalized foreign players in Malaysia is increasing significantly ahead of the match against Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, according to CNN Indonesia.

Malaysia increases 70% to 80% of naturalized players, Vietnam team cannot be subjective

According to CNN Indonesia , the Malaysian team has just announced the addition of 4 naturalized players of foreign origin, bringing the total to 5 players if counting defender Facundo Garces announced earlier this week. Among them, Facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca and Rodrigo Holgado are of Argentine origin, while Joao Figueiredo is Brazilian and Jon Irazabal is Spanish.

Malaysia (left) massively naturalizes foreign players and players with roots before the match against the Vietnamese team.

Photo: Independence

These naturalized players have officially worn the Malaysian national team jersey to prepare for the match against the Vietnamese national team at 8:00 p.m. on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium, in the second round of Group F, Round 3 of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Currently, the Vietnamese team is leading the group, even though they have 3 points with Malaysia, but they are ranked higher due to a better goal difference (they won 5-0 against Laos and 2-0 against Nepal in the opening match in March). Only the top team in each group will qualify for the final round, so the upcoming first leg between the two teams Vietnam and Malaysia will be extremely crucial.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has recently undergone a major change at the top, with new President Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub, and a team with a majority of Australians, including head coach Peter Cklamovski and CEO Rob Friend, a Canadian.

FAM also invited the former coach of the national team, Mr. Tan Cheng Hoe, to be the Technical Director and focused on the team to get a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup, besides returning to compete in regional tournaments such as the AFF Cup, aiming for the 2030 and 2034 World Cup qualifiers. Thereby, they rushed back into the race to massively naturalize players like the Indonesian team.

Up to now, the Malaysian team, including players with naturalized origins, has increased by 70% to 80%. The number of remaining native players is decreasing, notably Shahrul Saad, Dion Cools or Safawi Rasid, who are regulars in the main squad. Meanwhile, other positions, over time, have almost belonged to foreign-origin players.

The Malaysian press has also expressed this concern, but because of the need to strengthen the team which has been declining for many years, FAM is still determined to follow this policy.

Vietnam national team players are practicing to prepare to face Malaysia at Bukit Jalil away stadium.

Photo: Minh Hoang

The Malaysian team will bet a lot on the upcoming match against the Vietnamese team. If they win, it will be an initial success, but if they continue to suffer defeats like they have in the past 10 years against regional rivals, FAM will certainly face a lot of criticism.

The Malaysian team had two trials with a squad consisting of mostly foreign players, including newly-joined players, but the results were not positive when they drew 1-1 with Cape Verde (on May 29) and lost 0-3 (on June 3).

In the 0-3 loss (closed match), CNN Indonesia quoted Argentine journalist Maxi Ertola as saying: "The Malaysian team cannot use player Imanol Machuca because his physical condition is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, other players also need time to integrate because they have just arrived in a new environment, and have just met new teammates.

This will be a challenge for coach Cklamovski to stabilize and help these old and new naturalized Malaysian players integrate. And above all, to quickly find the desired playing style, while there is not much time left."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/malaysia-nhap-tich-cau-thu-ngoai-tang-manh-truoc-tran-gap-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-185250605103353669.htm