DRECRUITMENT MALAYSIA WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT
While the Vietnamese team won the championship convincingly, the Malaysian team was eliminated in the AFF Cup 2024 group stage with forgettable results: winning exactly 1 group match against Timor Leste, losing to Thailand and being held to a draw by Singapore and Cambodia. However, it would be too hasty to underestimate the strength of “Tiger”.
The Malaysian team (right) is transforming
Because at the AFF Cup 2024, the Malaysian team does not have the strongest force. The players playing for Johor Darul Tazim Club (JDT) did not join the team, meaning Malaysia lost half of its strength. JDT is the team that has won the Malaysian championship for 10 consecutive years and is standing in the middle of the AFC Champions League Elite table with impressive performances. The Johor state team owns many national players (both native and naturalized players), and without the pillars from JDT Club, Malaysia is weak as usual.
However, in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, with matches within the FIFA Days framework, the mainstays of the Malaysian team will return. To add strength to the team with the goal of winning tickets to the Asian Cup finals, the Football Federation of Malaysia (FAM) will welcome more naturalized players. Recently, President Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim of JDT Club confirmed that he is promoting naturalization for 6 to 7 half-Malaysian players. If supported by the Malaysian government, these players can complete paperwork in time for Malaysia’s debut match in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, taking place in March on Nepal’s field. If it’s slower, the naturalized players will have time to wear the “Tiger” shirt in June, in the important match with Vietnam.
The naturalization policy over the past decade has brought many potential faces to the Malaysian team, such as Declan Lambert, Daniel Ting, Dominic Tan, Stuart Wilkin, Darren Lok, La’Vere Corbin-Ong, Dion Cools or Matthew Davies . With the addition of naturalized stars, Malaysia can field a squad… full of players of European origin.
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The Malaysian team and young teams also received more good news, with an investment of 30 million ringgit (169 billion VND) in 2025 with the goal of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup. This is a huge number, becoming the foundation. for a comprehensive revolution at FAM. Coach Peter Cklamovski was appointed to the “hot seat”. The Macedonian-Australian teacher has spent 6 years coaching teams in Japan’s highest division such as Shimizu S-Pulse or FC Tokyo, with a remarkable level of expertise and experience having worked as an assistant to coach Ange. Postecoglou (leading Tottenham) on the Australian team. FAM also appointed a new executive director and fitness expert.
The goal of “Tiger” is to defeat Vietnam to get tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup. Because each group in the final qualifying round only selects the best team to advance, the race between Malaysia and Vietnam will be very fierce.
The Vietnamese team will compete with Malaysia in June at Bukit Jalil Stadium in the second round, then rematch this opponent in March 2026 at home. Even though Vietnam has a superior record against Malaysia (undefeated for a decade), away trips to the “Tiger” stadium are always… easy going, hard to come back for Quang Hai and his teammates. Most of Vietnam’s victories over Malaysia took place at home or neutral stadiums. When having to play at Bukit Jalil Stadium with the most enthusiasm in Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese team only had a 2-2 draw (2018) in their last visit.
