Malaysia impresses before facing Vietnam

On the evening of May 29, Malaysia drew 1-1 with the world's 72nd ranked team Cape Verde, thereby creating psychological momentum for the match with the Vietnamese team in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Malaysia held an opponent ranked 59 places higher in the FIFA rankings.

Malaysia’s opponents, Cape Verde, are currently ranked 72nd in the FIFA rankings, 59 places above Malaysia. The African team has many famous players playing in Europe. Last November, the team drew with powerful Egypt at AFCON.

Against a team that was considered stronger, coach Peter Cklamovski and his team took the initiative to control the ball. However, Capde Verde opened the scoring in the 8th minute. Sidney Cabral calmly handled the ball in the penalty area to eliminate the defender, before unleashing a powerful shot, giving the goalkeeper no chance to block.

After conceding the goal, Malaysia tried to push up their attack and create a stalemate with their African opponents. The two teams played tit for tat but no goals were scored until the break.

In the second half, Malaysia increased the pace and put a lot of pressure on the Cape Verde defense. In the 60th minute, the equalizer almost came to the Southeast Asian representative, when Faisal Halim shot from a distance, causing goalkeeper Vozinha to push the ball against the post.

In the 78th minute, the home fans exploded when Quentin Cheng fought hard, before assisting Paulo Josue to finish from less than 6 meters away, beating the goalkeeper. The naturalized player of Brazilian origin even almost scored a double, with a cross-angle shot blocked by the goalkeeper in the final minutes.

Malaysia and Cape Verde will play again on June 3. On June 10, Malaysia will host Vietnam, also at Bukit Jalil. The match is in Group F, the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

Source: https://znews.vn/malaysia-gay-an-tuong-truoc-ngay-doi-dau-tuyen-viet-nam-post1556849.html