Facing a Malaysia team that is on the path of strong "transformation" thanks to a squad of quality naturalized players, the Vietnamese team entered the match with a big change in lineup, missing many familiar pillars.
Coach Kim Sang-sik arranged for Nguyen Hai Long to play as a "false number 9" while names like Tien Linh, Quoc Viet or Quang Hai had to sit on the bench.
Although Malaysia did not dominate the first half, the lack of concentration and confusion in the organization of the Vietnamese team's play repeatedly put Filip Nguyen's goal in dangerous situations.
In the second half, all defensive efforts collapsed within 20 minutes: Figueiredo opened the scoring in the 49th minute, Holgado doubled the gap in the 59th minute and Corbin-Ong scored the third goal in the 69th minute. In the 89th minute, Cools sealed the 4-0 victory.
With the resounding victory, Malaysia rose to the top of Group F with 6 absolute points after two matches.
The Vietnamese team, although still holding the second position in the group thanks to goal difference and a 5-0 victory over Laos in the first round, currently has only 3 points and is clearly behind its direct opponent. Following them are Laos (3 points) and Nepal (0 points).
Based on the head-to-head ranking system when teams are level on points, Malaysia's 4-0 home win almost guarantees they will finish above Vietnam if the two teams finish the group stage with the same number of points.
This makes the chance of Vietnam team winning a direct ticket to the final round extremely slim.
According to the schedule, the final match of Group F will witness a rematch between Vietnam and Malaysia at My Dinh Stadium on March 31, 2026.
But even if both teams win all their remaining matches and face each other in the final round, the Vietnamese team will still have to win by at least four goals to take the top spot in the group – a scenario that is almost impossible given the current situation.
In fact, Malaysia has completely transformed itself thanks to its large-scale naturalization policy, turning them into an even more formidable opponent than Thailand or Indonesia.
Although the chance of winning the top spot is very low, the Vietnamese team still has the ability to continue if they are among the second-placed teams with the best results. However, to do that, the prerequisite is not to stumble in the remaining matches and need to significantly improve the goal difference.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/thua-dam-malaysia-doi-tuyen-viet-nam-lam-the-kho-tai-vong-loai-asian-cup-2027-141838.html
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