The Malaysian team has arrived in Ninh Binh to prepare for the rematch with the Vietnamese team in the final match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In the Malaysian squad, coach Peter Cklamovski continues to call up midfielder Endrick dos Santos - one of the naturalized players playing football in the V.League in the colors of Ho Chi Minh City Police Club.
Endrick dos Santos was born on March 7, 1995 in Santana (Brazil). He grew up in the Brazilian football environment before successively playing for many clubs such as Ypiranga, Campinense, Santa Rita, Apollon Limassol, Botosani or Johor Darul Ta'zim.
From the 2024-2025 season, Endrick moved to play for Ho Chi Minh City Police (formerly Ho Chi Minh City) in the V.League. To date, after nearly 2 seasons, the 31-year-old midfielder has played 32 matches and scored 3 goals.
According to Transfermarkt's valuation, Endrick is currently worth about 200,000 euros.
Playing in the V.League helps Endrick accumulate a certain understanding of the Vietnamese football environment as well as many players who are wearing the national team jersey.
This is considered an important factor when he regularly directly faces top domestic players at club level, thereby grasping the characteristics of the playing style and tactical operation.
Endrick completed the Malaysian naturalization procedures in early 2023 and was quickly called up to the national team from March of the same year.
To date, he has made 25 appearances for the Malaysian national team but has not scored. However, this player is still considered an important option in midfield thanks to his ability to regulate and support defense.
Before the rematch with Vietnam, Malaysian newspapers highly appreciated Endrick's role. A leading newspaper said that his experience playing in the V.League could help this midfielder bring an advantage to the away team, especially in the context that Malaysia needs a positive result to close the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers after being defeated by AFC in 2 matches and no longer having a chance to advance.
Endrick himself also affirmed his goal of playing professionally in the current situation. He said that wearing the Malaysian national team jersey is an honor, and will focus on the match instead of off-field issues.
When commenting on the Vietnamese team, the midfielder born in 1995 highly appreciated individuals, including Nguyen Xuan Son's scoring ability and Do Hoang Hen's organizing role in the midfield area.
With experience playing in the V.League, Endrick dos Santos is expected by Malaysian fans to continue to play the role of connecting the playing style, supporting the home team in bringing favorable results against the Vietnamese team.
