According to the schedule, Malaysia will meet Vietnam on June 10, in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. In this match, Harimau Malaya (called Malaysia) will play at home at Bukit Jalil Stadium.
The Malaysian team has not had a good head-to-head record against the Vietnamese team, as they lost 7 and drew 1 in the last 8 meetings since 2016. Mr. Peter Cklamovski clearly understands the challenges that await him and his students. But before thinking about victory, he just hoped that the home team players would be in the best physical condition when playing against the Vietnam team.
The Super League season in Malaysia has ended. That means the Malaysian team will not encounter any obstacles from clubs in letting players join the national team. However, with the break, it is not easy to help the Malaysian players regain their peak form in June.
On the contrary, Vietnam's 2024-2025 V.League season will continue until June. That means Quang Hai and his teammates can still maintain the rhythm of the competition, and their mentality and physical strength are still guaranteed. This is very important for Kim Sang-sik and his team.
Realizing that physical strength could be a factor that will decide the upcoming match, the Australian coach has outlined his plan, including organizing two practice matches for the Malaysian team, before the whole team meets the Vietnamese team.
He said: "We will prepare carefully for the match against the Vietnam team. This time it will be a bit more difficult as it will take place right after the season, so the players need to recover their fitness after a long campaign.
It will be a difficult match, but it is not out of reach for us, we will give our all. One or two friendly matches will help the players regain their rhythm before we face the Vietnamese team. We will soon announce the friendly match schedule".
The Vietnamese team has long been a huge shadow for Malaysia in regional competition. The last time Harimau Malaya defeated the Vietnamese team was 11 years ago. That was a 4-2 victory in the second leg of the 2014 AFF Cup semi-finals.
In Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Malaysia and Vietnam are currently on 3 points, but Vietnam is ranked higher because they have better secondary indicators.
The top team will qualify for the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2 years. With that nature, the result of the Malaysia vs Vietnam match will greatly affect the final rankings of the two teams in the qualifying round.
