The source of players includes those of Malaysian descent playing abroad and some foreign players playing in the Malaysian National Championship who are eligible for naturalization.
According to Malaysian press, there are 3 players in the "foreign" group ready to wear the Malaysian national team jersey: 2 strikers Bergson da Silva, Jordan Mintah and midfielder Manuel Hidalgo.
Bergson da Silva is an excellent player for Johor Darul Ta'zim. In 4 seasons with the team, this 34-year-old player has become the best scorer in the history of Johor Darul Ta'zim. He scored 140 goals in 136 matches (statistics from Transfermarkt ). Born in Brazil, Bergson da Silva played for the U.20 team of this country in 2010. However, he is still unable to play for the Malaysian team due to FIFA regulations, according to which he must not meet the 5-year residency requirement in Malaysia until March 2026 to be able to transfer to the team.
Sumareh (right) is still a mainstay of the Malaysian team.
Photo: Minh Tu
Meanwhile, Ghanaian striker Jordan Mintah has recently completed the naturalization procedures. The player born in 1995 has not been named in the March 2025 training list, but will likely be present in the next training session.
In addition, the Malaysian team's roster still includes a series of naturalized players who have been on the national team in the past few years, such as Romel Morales (Colombian origin), Mohamadou Sumareh (Gambia), Natxo Insa (Spain), Endrick (Brazil), Nooa Laine (Finland), Paulo Josué (Brazil).
Malaysia surprises
There is a big surprise in the list of Malaysian players this time, the appearance of 39-year-old midfielder Natxo Insa. This player was born in Spain and grew up at the Valencia Football Academy. Insa played 20 matches in La Liga for Valencia (2006-2007 season), Villarreal (2010-2011) and Celta Vigo (2012-2013). He spent most of his career in the Spanish first division, with 244 matches, for the teams.
B Valencia, B Villarreal, Celta Vigo, Zaragoza, Alcorcon and Levante. Insa also went to Türkiye to play for Antalyaspor for a season, 2013-2014. From 2017 to present, he has played for the strongest club in Malaysia - Johor Darul Ta'zim.
In March 2018, Insa made his debut in a 2-2 friendly draw with Mongolia, but then-coach Tan Cheng Hoe did not use him. It was not until June 2023 that Insa was called up for the second time, then to the 2023 Asian Cup under coach Kim Pan-gon. However, his performance in the 1-0 loss to Bahrain caused him to be heavily criticized by Malaysian fans . Therefore, the fact that the new Australian coach of the Malaysian team, Peter Cklamovski, called up the 39-year-old player to the national team surprised Malaysian fans.
In a recent press conference, coach Peter Cklamovski said that to improve the level of the Malaysian team, it is necessary to improve the quality of the Malaysian national championship, because this is the foundation for providing players for the team.
"Looking at the figures, the Malaysian National Championship is very disadvantaged. The actual playing time is low, while the "dead ball" time is too much (due to players intentionally wasting time or poor physical condition, walking a lot, being lazy to compete...). That means the matches are slow and not attractive. If we look at regional rivals like Vietnam and Thailand, they play at a higher tempo, with more playing minutes and a higher level in the matches. This is something that needs to be improved," coach Cklamovski pointed out.
Malaysia's opening match in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will be against Nepal at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on March 25. This group consists of 4 teams: Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and Nepal. Only 1 ticket to the next round is for the top team.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/malaysia-nhap-tich-toi-tap-co-cau-thu-goc-brazil-nhu-xuan-son-quyet-dau-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-185250315225837738.htm
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