Malaysia emphasized and affirmed their goal of winning against the "Golden Star Warriors". But in fact, the Malaysians are playing a psychological card, because they are also very worried that the losing streak against the Vietnamese team will be extended.
Football is a team game.
In theory, Malaysia this time seems to be the strongest version in history. Because they have never gathered so many personnel including a series of Malaysian players from Belgium, England, Australia, Scotland, China... and a group of naturalized players including Endrick (HCMC Club), Paulo Josue (Brazil/Kuala Lumpur City) and Romel Morales (Colombia/Johor Darul Tazim).
Vietnam - the Southeast Asian champion, is very confident in the match against Malaysia on June 10.
This force, combined with domestic players selected from leading clubs of the Super Liga (MFL) such as Johor Darul Tazim, Selangor, Penang, Kuala Lumpur City... created very high expectations for Malaysian fans. However, things were not as simple as they wished, because football is a collective sport and depends on many factors.
First of all, in terms of player quality, not all players called up to the Malaysian national team have a "level" higher than the professional level of Southeast Asian players, including Mr. Kim Sang-sik's students.
Second, the Malaysian players that coach Peter Cklamovski used were just "average". Names like Matthew Davies, Stuart Wilkin, Dion Cools, Fergus Tierne... were called up to the national team before Mr. Cklamovski received the captain of the "Harimau Tigers". In fact, their performance was not too outstanding compared to the domestic Malaysian player resources.
Vietnam team (left) does not need to worry too much against Malaysia
Third, the integration and fighting spirit of naturalized players, including Malaysian players, under the national flag are always questioned. This is not a new problem, as a similar situation occurred under coach Tan Cheng Hoe. That is the reason why the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) was "hesitant" with the policy of naturalizing a large number of players - until Indonesia and Vietnam achieved initial success. The Indonesian team is competing for a World Cup ticket thanks to the "Netherlands 2.0" version; while Vietnam has succeeded with the case of Nguyen Xuan Son.
Equal opportunity for both
Malaysia has determined that this match is their "national concert". Winning against Vietnam is a great desire of this country's football because they have not had that feeling in the past 10 years. On many forums, Malaysian fans have expressed confidence that the "Harimau Tigers" will defeat the "Golden Dragons". Meanwhile, the Malaysian media has continuously repeated the terms "victory", "defeat", "overthrow" the reigning champion of the AFF Cup 2024, Vietnam.
However, in Malaysia, there is a person who seems to be very realistic, that is Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. In a message that was both cheerful and friendly when receiving Vietnamese leader, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh , Mr. Anwar Ibrahim said, "If Malaysia wins, I will call you, if it loses, I will go to sleep." This is actually a way of saying, "the chance of winning is divided equally for both sides" and not a challenge or challenge as the online community speculated. This proves that the Malaysian leader does not let emotions lead him, even though in a few days his country's team will be the host with many advantages in terms of time and place over Vietnam.
Equal opportunities for both Vietnam (right) and Malaysia teams
Meanwhile, Vietnamese fans are worried that the team will not have much time to practice together because coach Kim and the group of 4 players Hoang Duc, Hai Long, Duy Manh, Van Vy will waste time "doing other people's business" when the Asean All Stars team faces Manchester United. However, perhaps Mr. Kim has his own plans. His visit to the "den" of Bukit Jalil to "witness" before the big match will help collect a lot of data about the competition venue, the opponents, including the Malaysian factors in the Asean All Stars team.
In addition, Hoang Duc, Hai Long, Duy Manh, and Van Vi playing at Bukit Jalil Stadium also helped them get used to the pitch and atmosphere of this fiery cauldron. Being able to approach Manchester United's idol players to get inspiration for playing football, along with valuable experiences at Bukit Jalil without getting injured is the "compound interest" that Mr. Kim's students have received.
It is true that Mr. Kim Sang-sik is at a disadvantage because he does not have enough players to practice at the same time before this confrontation, but on the Malaysian side, coach Peter Cklamovski is not doing any better when the players he summoned come from many different tournaments, from Europe to Asia, so the force cannot concentrate synchronously.
Before the match, the image of the home team's strength is only on paper. It is also a psychological game that the Malaysian media and fans are supporting their players.
Vietnam, the Southeast Asian champion, has the advantage of facing off even on away ground, we are completely confident and composed in all situations. This will push the pressure back onto host Malaysia in the match on June 10.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-khong-can-qua-lo-truoc-malaysia-196250530145234983.htm
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