The Vietnam team has left for Malaysia, preparing for the match against the home team on June 10, in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Due to injury, coach Kim Sang-sik cannot use a series of players from Nguyen Van Toan, Nguyen Xuan Son, Bui Vi Hao, Doan Ngoc Tan, Vu Van Thanh, Nguyen Bui Hoang Viet Anh... These are all important players of the team, contributing many championships to the recent 2024 ASEAN Cup.
In addition, veteran striker Cong Phuong was also forced to return to the national team for the same reason. Compared to the match against Laos in March this year, Malaysia will bring a much bigger challenge for Mr. Kim Sang-sik and his team.
Peter Cklamovski's team is changing day by day, every hour from the playing style to the force. Preparing for the match against Vietnam, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced the successful naturalization of 5 new players including: Imanol Machuca, facundo Garces and Rodrigo Holcado (Argentina), Joao Figueiredo of Brazil and Jon Irazabal of Spain.
In addition to the previous cases of Hector Hevel and Gabriel Palmero, the Malaysian team has had 7 new naturalized players since the beginning of 2025. These "new recruits" combined with the previous naturalized players such as Dion Cools, Romel Morales, Corbin-Ong... help the team nicknamed Harimau Malaya own a highly rated squad.
Ahead of the important match at Bukit Jalil Stadium, coach Kim Sang-sik also admitted the difficulties in the upcoming match. One thing that makes him and his colleagues face a big challenge is the analysis of opponents, because some naturalized Malaysian players are too new, not having much data.
With difficulties in terms of force, building a solid and effective playing style is the highest goal of Mr. Kim Sang-sik. Most likely in the upcoming match, the Korean strategist will have some changes in the starting lineup compared to the 5-0 victory over Laos.
Goalkeeper Nguyen Filip is likely to return to the starting lineup, after showing good form recently. Cao Pendant Quang Vinh can also be used for the ability to play wide on the left wing. On the front line, trust will be placed in Pham Tuan Hai - who has played very well in the past time.
Above all, the stability and experience of the battle of veterans such as Quang Hai, Hoang Duc, Duy Manh... will play a very important role for the Vietnam team in the upcoming match.
The Malaysian team has just had 2 friendly matches against the Cape Verde team. In the second match, they lost to the African team with a score of 0-3. That shows that the Malaysian team with many naturalized players still has many shortcomings in their playing style. In terms of understanding, cohesion and understanding, they are clearly not equal to the Vietnam team.
That will create opportunities for the Vietnam team in the upcoming match. If they win, Quang Hai and his teammates will have a chance to lead the group, thereby winning tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup.
