Malaysia secured second place in Group B with 9 points after a 1-0 victory over the Philippines last night. Their path to the semifinals included earlier wins against Myanmar (2-1) and Laos (4-0), along with a 0-2 loss to Thailand.

This marks Malaysia's 10th appearance in the Southeast Asian semifinals across 16 editions of the tournament. However, a formidable challenge awaits them in Group A winners, Vietnam. Malaysian newspaper Harian Metro described Vietnam as a "Southeast Asian giant" for Coach Tan Cheng Hoe's squad.

Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe directs his team during their 1-0 victory over the Philippines in the final Group B match of the ASEAN Cup 2026, at Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Malaysia on 8/8. Photo: MalaysiaNT

"Matches against Vietnam have become a tradition," Tan stated. "However, not beating this opponent has also become a habit for Malaysia. We need to be more confident in ourselves and require strong support from our fans."

Historically, Malaysia has lost 17 matches, drawn three, and won five against Vietnam. Their last victory was a 4-2 win in the second leg of the AFF Cup (predecessor to the ASEAN Cup) semifinals in 2014. Since then, Malaysia has suffered nine losses and one draw against Vietnam. "The Tigers" nearly secured a 4-0 victory in the final round of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers on 10/6/2025, but the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruled it a 0-3 defeat due to naturalization fraud involving seven foreign-born players. In the return leg on 31/3, Malaysia lost 1-3 at Thien Truong Stadium in Ninh Binh.

Under Coach Tan, Malaysia had a period from 2018 to 2022 where they were a challenging opponent for Vietnam. However, their only positive result was a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the 2018 AFF Cup final. Other encounters saw them lose 0-1 in the second leg, followed by 0-1 and 1-2 defeats in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers – Asia region, and two 0-3 losses in the group stages of the 2021 and 2022 AFF Cups.

Striker Pavithran (left) and Argentina-born naturalized midfielder Sergio Aguero (right) celebrate a goal in the 16th minute during the 1-0 victory over the Philippines in the final Group B match of the ASEAN Cup 2026, at Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Malaysia on 8/8. Photo: MalaysiaNT

Following the naturalization scandal, Malaysia also parted ways with Australian coach Peter Cklamovski. On 25/6, Technical Director Tan Cheng Hoe was appointed as interim coach for the ASEAN Cup 2026.

As the tournament falls outside the FIFA international match calendar, Malaysia could not call up its strongest squad, with half of the players having played no more than five matches for the national team. Coach Tan Cheng Hoe acknowledged that preparations were far from smooth and had many shortcomings, but the players overcame these challenges with determination and unity. "Perhaps no one believed we would reach the semifinals. I want to thank all the team members for this achievement," said the coach born in 1968.

After the win against the Philippines, midfielder Wan Kuzain expressed hope that the team would maintain their form. The players planned to celebrate the victory until the end of 8/8 before immediately focusing on Vietnam.

Striker Pavithran hopes Malaysian fans will fill all 18,000 seats at Kuala Lumpur Stadium when they host Vietnam. "I think the stands will be packed. That's our home advantage," the 21-year-old player stated. "The crowd can inspire the players to win."

Previously, 10,044 and 12,734 spectators, respectively, attended the home matches to support Coach Tan Cheng Hoe's squad. These figures exceeded the expectations of Gambia-born striker Mohamadou Sumareh, who has experienced both praise and criticism during his eight years playing for the national team. He no longer gets emotional when lauded and pays no attention to negative comments.

"I remain very humble because everything can change at any moment. I have enough experience to know that anything can happen," Sumareh said. "But I am very grateful that the fans have returned, giving us all their support and love."

Malaysia will host Vietnam in the first leg of the semifinals at Kuala Lumpur Stadium on 16/8. Three days later, the two teams will meet again for the return leg at My Dinh Stadium.

Trung Thu (according to Harian Metro)