Vietnam will face Malaysia on the evening of 31/3 at Thien Truong Stadium in Ninh Binh province for their final Group F match of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers. Vietnam has already secured a spot in the finals. Malaysia will be without seven naturalized players who contributed to their initial 4-0 victory over Vietnam at Bukit Jalil Stadium on 10/6/2025. That match was later overturned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to a 3-0 victory for Vietnam.

The AFC's decision naturally disappointed Malaysian fans. However, Rajagobal urged Peter Cklamovski's squad not to be swayed by the ruling. "The die is cast, so do not let the disruptions continue to affect and bind the minds of the entire team", he told Stadium Astro. "The team needs to quickly put aside what has happened to focus on the upcoming match."

Former Malaysia coach, K. Rajagobal. *Photo: Bernama*

While Malaysia will be without the seven naturalized players involved in the falsified document scandal, Rajagobal suggested this could ironically benefit Cklamovski's side. "A reverse psychological tactic should be applied, given Malaysia has lost seven ineligible players", he explained. "This will surely make the Vietnam team overconfident and complacent. They might not pay attention to the local Malaysian players used as replacements."

Rajagobal believes this situation could create unexpected pressure on the Vietnamese hosts. "They might be curious about the lineup Malaysia fields", the 69-year-old coach noted. "Therefore, we need to view this positively."

Despite the absence of key players like Joao Figueiredo (Brazilian origin), Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces (Argentina), Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero (Spain), and Hector Hevel (Netherlands), Malaysia's squad for the Vietnam match will still include 10 mixed-heritage players and three naturalized players without ancestral ties to Malaysia. While Group F standings are settled, the game remains important as it could affect both teams' FIFA rankings.

Rajagobal, who coached Malaysia from 2009 to 2013, winning a SEA Games 25 gold medal and the 2010 AFF Cup, emphasized the importance of fighting spirit. "Under any circumstances, Malaysia must demonstrate quality", he stated. "If the players understand the situation, they will try their utmost."

The scandal emerged last year when FIFA found seven naturalized Malaysian players had used invalid civil registration documents. Consequently, these players received a 12-month ban. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also incurred significant financial penalties and legal consequences, including forfeiting several international friendly matches.

Despite the penalties, sports lawyer Nik Erman Nik Roseli noted that Malaysia narrowly avoided a more severe outcome. He explained that if Article 61 of the AFC disciplinary code, pertaining to serious fraudulent conduct, had been invoked, the team could have faced a ban from future major tournaments. "We are lucky because fans once thought Malaysia would be banned from upcoming tournaments", the lawyer remarked. "Therefore, only forfeiting two matches is quite lenient."

Hoang An (according to Stadium Astro)