Malaysia calls up 'huge' squad to play Vietnam, many players are naturalized

Malaysia team calls up "huge" squad to face Vietnam - Photo: FAM

In the list of 38 players mentioned above, there are 3 naturalized players: Endrick, Paulo Josue (Brazil) and Romel Morales (Colombia); 8 players are Malaysians including Matthew Davies (Australian origin), La'Vere Corbin-Ong (Barbados), Quentin Cheng (China), Daniel Ting, Stuart Wilkin, Hong Wan (England), Dion Cools (Belgium), Fergus Tierney (Scotland) and Nooa Laine (Finland).

In this training session, the Malaysian team has 9 new players. Most notable is defender Gabriel Palmero, who is of Spanish and Malaysian descent. Gabriel Palmero (born in 2002), is playing for Tenerife B in the Spanish Fourth Division.

With a squad of many quality players, a combination of native, Malaysian, and naturalized players, the Malaysian team will be a big challenge for coach Kim Sang Sik and his team.

According to the plan, the Malaysian team will gather on May 19 with 28 players. On May 25, the next 8 players including Syihan Hazmi, defender Corbin-Ong, Matthew Davies, Shahrul Saad, Junior Eldstal, midfielder Afiq Fazail, striker Romel Morales (Johor Darul Tazim - JDT) and midfielder Endrick (HCMC Club) will join the team.

The reason why players are divided into many training periods is because the national championships have different schedules. Many players also want to take advantage of the time to rest before joining the national team.

It was not until June 1 that the Malaysian team had a full squad when the two remaining players, Dion Cools (Buriram United) and midfielder Hector Hevel (Portimonense Club), gathered. To prepare for the match against Vietnam, the Malaysian team will have two warm-up matches with Cape Verde (FIFA rank 72) on May 29 and June 3.

Malaysia will meet Vietnam on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium. This is a match that Malaysia is determined to win to compete with Vietnam for the top spot in the group. After the first round of matches, Vietnam is temporarily leading Group F with 3 points. Malaysia has the same points but is ranked lower due to a lower goal difference (+2 compared to +5).

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-malaysia-goi-doi-hinh-khung-dau-viet-nam-nhieu-cau-thu-nhap-tich-20250515175854566.htm