Despite suffering a heavy loss when 7 naturalized players were suspended by FIFA due to fraudulent records, the Malaysian team continues to rely on foreign-born players in the training session for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Coach Peter Cklamovski has called up 29 players, including 14 naturalized players, to prepare for the two matches against Laos.
This list includes names from many different countries such as Corbin-Ong (Canada), Daniel Ting (UK), Declan Lambert (Australia), Dion Cools ( Belgium), Junior Eldstal (Sweden), Richard Chin (UK), Quentin Cheng (Australia), Endrick (Brazil), Nooa Laine (France), Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Stuart Wilkin (UK), Jordan Mintah (Ghana), Paulo Jose (Brazil) and Romel Morales ( Colombia). Of these, only two players are playing abroad: Dion Cools (Cerezo Osaka, Japan) and Richard Chin (Raith Rovers, Scotland).
Most of the remaining players are playing domestically and have not had much impact in terms of expertise. This makes experts say that the new force will find it difficult to immediately make up the gap from the group of 7 naturalized pillars banned from competing.
However, the fact that a squad of more than half of the players are naturalized shows that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has persistently pursued a policy of taking advantage of foreign resources. Meeting a weaker opponent like Laos will be an opportunity for coach Cklamovski to experiment, arrange the squad and find a temporary replacement.
In addition, the Malaysian team is also waiting for the official decision from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on the possibility of being awarded a 0-3 loss in the wins against Nepal and Vietnam for using naturalized players to defraud documents. This is an issue that could directly affect the team's journey in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
In the coming time, the Malaysian team will have 2 matches against Laos in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup on October 9 and 14.
