Event and honor, experts and fans all talk about this when the Vietnamese team meets the Malaysian team again in the last match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
No more talking about points, about the ticket to the final round (because it is already in the hands of the Vietnamese team), but the match at Thien Truong Stadium is still very hot.
The incident involving 7 naturalized players caused Malaysian football to pay the price – both in points and personnel, but the "side effect" of being defeated 0-3 (the match in Kuala Lumpur last June had a score of 4-0 for the home team) will make coach Peter Cklamovski's team come to Thien Truong Stadium with higher determination.
Turning disappointment into motivation for victory, both regaining honor and affirming their strength. That is their goal.
The Malaysian team did not play in the previous match in the FIFA Days in March, meaning that their last match was from November last year. More or less, their change is still a bit "mysterious".
Compared to the 3-0 victory over Bangladesh on March 26, the Vietnamese team will be much more cautious, because even if defeated, the Malaysian team is still on a 5-match winning streak. Even when opponents are not too strong, they have confidence when they only conceded 2 goals in those 5 matches.
If the away team is determined 9, then the Vietnamese team must be determined 10. The result is still very stable under coach Kim Sang-sik, but somewhere, the way they perform is still not considered stable.
The return of Xuan Son, Van Hau, or Hoang Hen's debut a few days ago has shown everyone a preliminary view of both positive details and issues that need improvement.
The question that many people are interested in at this time is whether coach Kim will decide to use both Xuan Son and Hoang Hen in the starting lineup or not?
There will be many perspectives based on his choice, but no matter what, this match is not as comfortable and with as much space to play football as when playing against Bangladesh at Hang Day Stadium.
The element of bravery and experience must be promoted, in front of the opponent, they will throw into the match everything they have. Of course, attention should also be paid to the emotional aspect on the other side of the field, if pushed too high, it is very likely to be a factor for the Vietnamese team to exploit.
Vietnam 2-1 Malaysia
