Will Tien Linh regain his good form against Malaysia? - Photo: VFF
In addition, coach Kim Sang Sik also had to say goodbye to striker Cong Phuong yesterday (June 3) due to not recovering from injury in time.
Malaysia adds "steel" shield
Not only competing for the only ticket in Group F to the 2027 Asian Cup finals, the confrontation with Vietnam also has special significance for Malaysia. It is to end more than a decade of not being able to beat Vietnam since the 4-2 victory in the second leg of the 2014 AFF Cup semi-final at My Dinh Stadium.
Therefore, the host Malaysia has prepared very carefully by calling many new naturalized players to the team. The latest is the presence of the Argentine duo - striker Rodrigo Holgado and center back Facundo Garces (1m89 tall).
Among them, Facundo Garces is valued at 1.2 million euros by the transfer website Transfermarkt - the highest in the current Malaysian team. Remember, the two most expensive players of the Vietnamese team, goalkeeper Nguyen Filip and left-back Cao Pendant Quang Vinh, together are only worth 1 million euros.
Facing many quality strikers in the Argentine Championship and now in Spain (La Liga) with Deportivo Alaves, Facundo Garces has shown his class and is the perfect piece for the Malaysian defense. "Facundo is a calm, experienced and talented central defender. He is excited to wear the Malaysian national team shirt and wants to contribute to taking the team to new heights," said coach Peter Clamovski.
Facundo Garces is said by experts to have no problems in his debut for the Malaysian national team. This is also what naturalized center-back Jay Idzes (Netherlands) showed in his debut for the Indonesian national team against Vietnam in the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. He played well in the first leg, winning 1-0 against Vietnam in Jakarta, and scored in the second leg, winning 3-0 against Vietnam in Hanoi .
Cong Phuong (middle) left the Vietnam national team on June 3 due to injury - Photo: HOANG TUNG
A difficult problem for coach Kim Sang Sik
In this training session, Mr. Kim Sang Sik cannot have top strikers like Nguyen Xuan Son, Van Toan and Vi Hao due to injuries.
Therefore, he was forced to call Cong Phuong back after nearly 2 years of absence. But after only a few training sessions, Mr. Kim had to say goodbye to Cong Phuong due to injury. Striker Nguyen Quoc Viet was promoted from the U22 team to replace him.
Vietnam currently has 4 strikers: Tien Linh, Dinh Thanh Binh, Tuan Hai and Quoc Viet. Besides Tuan Hai, who is gradually regaining his form by scoring in the last two matches in the V-League, Tien Linh and Dinh Thanh Binh are both playing poorly at their clubs. Quoc Viet also did not play very well in the 2024-2025 First Division.
With such an attack, it will be difficult for the Vietnamese team to penetrate the Malaysian defense that has just been reinforced with the "steel shield" Facundo Garces.
In recent team building sessions, although Tien Linh was still arranged to play in the starting lineup, Mr. Kim needed to have a second option against Malaysia. However, the striker position only had Tien Linh and Thanh Binh and both were not in good form. Tuan Hai and Quoc Viet were only suitable to play on the wing. Therefore, how to arrange the attack line was quite a difficult problem for Mr. Kim.
In fact, the Vietnamese team's attack has been "silent" since the FIFA Days last March, even when facing Cambodia and Laos.
Therefore, against host Malaysia, coach Kim Sang Sik may have to continue to "rely" on the excellence of wingers such as Hai Long (scored 3 goals in 3 matches), Van Vi (scored 3 goals in 2 matches)... Both of these players, especially Van Vi, were often arranged by Mr. Kim to play as wingers in recent training sessions.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thach-thuc-cho-hang-cong-tuyen-viet-nam-20250604095340198.htm
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