Malaysia shocked the team to draw for the 2026 World Cup ticket, what did coach Kim Sang-sik see?

On the evening of May 29, the Malaysian team under coach Peter Cklamovski appeared in an official friendly match, drawing 1-1 with strong opponent Cape Verde. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues were certainly watching.

Malaysia presents a new face, preparing to welcome coach Kim Sang-sik and his team

Unlike the opening match in the 3rd qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup when the Malaysian team won 2-0 against Nepal on March 25, a "Harimau Malaya" with many new and best-prepared elements, trained by coach Peter Cklamovski for over a week, has debuted. They have real prospects when they are about to face the Vietnamese team on June 10.

Vietnam coach Kim Sang-sik must have watched Malaysia draw 1-1 with Cape Verde on May 29.

Photo: Ngoc Linh

Facing a very strong opponent, Cape Verde, ranked 72nd in the world , currently leading Group D of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Africa (ranked above Cameroon), who can completely aim for the goal of qualifying for the final round, the Malaysian team had an important test and brought them a lot of confidence.

The visitors opened the scoring early in the 8th minute through striker Sidney Cabral. But an impressive performance in the second half, as observed by journalist T. Avineshwaran of The Star , helped coach Peter Cklamovski's team equalize the score 1-1 through substitute striker Paulo Josue in the 79th minute.

In this match, the Malaysian team had two notable debuts, defender Gabriel Palmero (a Spanish native who has just been naturalized) and player Ubaidullah Shamsul. In addition, coach Peter Cklamovski also tested many players currently playing in the country, with 7 players named in the starting lineup.

Coach Kim Sang-sik and his colleagues in the Vietnam team certainly observed and saw the opponent's strengths and weaknesses. This is an official friendly match, the Malaysian team has the support of more than 10,708 spectators, of which there will obviously be observers from the Vietnam team to watch.

After the match, coach Peter Cklamovski was very pleased with the performance of the Malaysian players, saying that they had very good concentration. He said: "This is important, because I want the players to have maximum concentration because our goal is the upcoming match with the Vietnamese team. Tonight's match also showed our clear focus as a team. It reflects the way we train, our spirit on and off the field, and our commitment to improving every day."

Meanwhile, Cape Verde coach Pedro Leitao Brito said: "We used 12 brand new players for this match. So this is a satisfactory result not only for me, but also for the Malaysian team. This is a good challenge for both teams before the upcoming qualifying match."

Malaysia will face Cape Verde in another match, in a closed match also at Bukit Jalil Stadium on June 3. After that, Malaysia will host Vietnam in the second match of Group F in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup at 8:00 p.m. on June 10.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/malaysia-gay-soc-hoa-doi-tranh-ve-world-cup-2026-hlv-kim-sang-sik-da-nhin-thay-gi-185250530074856788.htm