AFC decides on Vietnam's group stage
On the night of November 3, the World Football Association (FIFA) officially rejected the appeal of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Accordingly, FIFA maintained the financial penalty for FAM, as well as continued to implement a 12-month suspension for 7 players who entered the country illegally.
FAM and these players were all determined by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to have forged documents during the naturalization process and were not eligible to play for the Malaysian National Team. This is also the reason why FIFA is determined to keep the penalty unchanged, despite the appeal from the Football Association of Malaysia. After the move from the world football organization, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will receive the documents and punish this team, as the organizer of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Against Malaysia, the AFC has handled many cases of players who were not eligible to compete. Timor Leste was even left out of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers and banned from the next round due to the use of 12 Brazilian players who did not meet naturalization regulations. Meanwhile, Malaysia with 7 naturalized players forging documents will find it difficult to escape the same heavy penalty.
In case Malaysia was only thua by AFC in 2 matches against Vietnam and Nepal (the match using naturalized players in violation of regulations), this team will fall to 2nd place in Group F with 6 points. On the contrary, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team took the top spot with 12 points. The 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers have only 2 matches left, so Vietnam only needs to avoid losing to Laos in the away match on November 8 to ensure their participation in the 2027 Asian Cup finals.
If Malaysia is stripped of the right to compete in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers and cancel the previous results, Vietnam will definitely have a ticket to the continental finals right away without having to wait for the results of the match later.
Speaking to Lao Dong, commentator Quang Huy said: When FIFA has given such a view, there will certainly be further steps to handle Malaysia. This means that Malaysia's appeals are almost invaluable and they are unlikely to make further defendants. All violations were too obvious and offensive.
I think FIFA will likely assign this incident to AFC for consideration and decision. If they are considered at the right level, they should even be eliminated from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers and banned from participating in international tournaments for a few years. But at the minimum, Malaysia must have their points deducted or suffer a 0-3 loss.
Professional spirit
On the evening of November 3, the Vietnam Football Federation's homepage emphasized that the Malaysia team is still allowed to compete in the remaining matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In addition, the AFC's review and award of a penalty for this team could last until March 31, 2026. This is the end of the final qualifying round to ensure the basis for determining the teams that qualify for the Asian finals.
Of course, until the AFC has made an official decision, VFF and the Vietnam National Team will still focus on chasing, accumulating points and positive results for each match in the hope of surpassing Malaysia in the rankings.
Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team still have a chance to rise to the top of the table without a penalty from the AFC. That is when the Vietnam team won the remaining 2 matches, including defeating Malaysia by a margin of 5 goals or more. The task is quite difficult, but not impossible.
On the other hand, in March 2026, Mr. Kim Sang-sik will welcome a series of pillars or high-level new players to the Vietnam National Team, including striker Nguyen Xuan Son, midfielder Do Hoang Hen or even left-back Doan Van Hau and center back Gustavo (if successfully naturalized).
In the immediate future, the Korean strategist will focus on the away trip against Laos on November 18. The list of Vietnam's players also clearly shows the seriousness when Xuan Son returns after 10 months of injury treatment.
