Vietnam National Team: Danger from Malaysia's naturalized players

TPO - The confrontation at the "fire pit" Bukit Jalil on June 10 promises to be full of difficulties for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team. Malaysia has changed a lot compared to the 2024 ASEAN Cup, and has become especially unpredictable when owning a squad with many naturalized players.

The most notable of these are names like Dion Cools, Hector Hevel, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Hogaldo, Imanol Machuca or Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal...

Machuca is of Argentine origin, 1m70 tall, and plays for Velez Sarsfield in the Argentine National Championship. Transfermarkt values ​​Machuca at 2.5 million euros (74 billion VND), making him one of the top 10 most expensive players in Southeast Asia.

Facundo Garces is another notable player who plays in the Spanish La Liga for Deportivo Alaves. This season, the 26-year-old centre-back has played 10 matches, playing solidly and not afraid of collisions. Midfielder Hevel, who plays in the Portuguese second division, was named in Malaysia's training camp in March and scored on his debut against Nepal. He is valued at 1.2 million euros.

Brazilian striker Joao Figueiredo, who is 1m80 tall, is valued at 2.1 million euros (nearly 63 billion VND). In attack, Malaysia also has another very dangerous striker of Argentine origin, Hogaldo, who is 1m89 tall.

The Vietnamese team's defense will face many tall, physically strong players from Malaysia.

The Vietnamese team only has two naturalized players, goalkeeper Nguyen Filip and Cao Pendant Quang Vinh. Coach Kim Sang-sik is without the services of the biggest star on the attack line, Nguyen Xuan Son, and striker Cong Phuong due to injury.

Compared to the ASEAN Cup 2024, Malaysia also has a change in the coaching staff when it is led by coach Peter Cklamovski. Mr. Cklamovski, 46 years old, is the former captain of FC Tokyo in the J-League. These changes make it more difficult for coach Kim Sang-sik and the coaching staff of the Vietnamese team to evaluate Malaysia.

Can the Vietnamese team overcome the pressure at Bukit Jalil?

The pressure at Bukit Jalil is also particularly high, with Malaysian fans famous for their enthusiasm, sometimes even becoming too excited. The advantage for Kim Sang-sik and his team is that the history of confrontation between the two sides is leaning towards Vietnam. In 23 confrontations between the two sides, the Vietnamese team won 15 matches, lost 5 and drew 3. In the last 5 meetings, Malaysia did not win against Vietnam.

However, this is just a reference parameter because the time and situation between the two sides are now different from before. The Vietnamese team will have to make great efforts to defeat their opponents, aiming for the opportunity to win a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup Finals.

Little Phung

Source: https://tienphong.vn/doi-tuyen-viet-nam-hiem-hoa-tu-dan-cau-thu-nhap-tich-cua-malaysia-post1749176.tpo