Naturalized stars cause Malaysia to miss out on playing against teams in the 2026 World Cup

Malaysia withdraws from CAFA Nations Cup 2025. Photo: Malaysia NT .

“ We have many players playing in the top leagues in the world such as Spain, Argentina, Colombia and Japan. Bringing them to the tournament in Central Asia was not feasible at that time, especially with the mandatory 72-hour recovery rule from FIFA, which added to the pressure, ” said coach Peter Cklamovski after Malaysia’s decision to withdraw from the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup.

The decision was announced by FAM on the afternoon of July 16. The 2025 CAFA Nations Cup is scheduled to take place from August 29 to September 8, coinciding with the period before FIFA days in September. This is the reason why the host clubs are not obliged to release players, especially the group of naturalized players, an important force in the Malaysian squad under coach Cklamovski.

In the most recent training session, Malaysia had 2/3 of its squad being naturalized players playing abroad, playing a key role in the team's gameplay. Their absence significantly reduced the team's strength, affecting its ability to compete in a tournament with many strong teams.

According to experts, FAM planned to participate in the tournament in advance, but after being unable to negotiate with foreign clubs to bring players back, they were forced to change their plans.

Not being able to call up the strongest squad not only affects the team’s performance but also puts Malaysia at risk of losing points in the FIFA rankings if they do not perform well. In the context of aiming to improve their ranking and qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, FAM is forced to consider the pros and cons between a friendly tournament and official matches in the continental qualifiers.

According to the previous draw, Malaysia was in the same group with Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. These are all teams with a strong physical foundation and modern playing style. If they reach the semi-finals, they will meet one of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan or Oman. However, FAM believes that with an inadequate force, the team will hardly be able to compete for high achievements in this tournament.

“In addition, there are the logistical and budgetary implications. Therefore, we had to make the decision to not participate in the tournament, in order to focus all our efforts on better preparation. Thereby, also to prepare for the important schedule in October and November in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with matches against Laos and Nepal,” added coach Cklamovski.

Malaysia will gather for the FIFA Days in September but are not expected to host any friendly matches in their place. Fans were hoping for a stronger start to the tournament after a 4-0 win over Vietnam in June, but the decision to withdraw shows that FAM still has to be cautious in its long-term build-up.

Source: https://znews.vn/dan-sao-nhap-tich-khien-malaysia-lo-hen-dau-cac-doi-du-world-cup-2026-post1569079.html