Hoang Anh Gia Lai strengthens foreign experts; AFC denies news that Malaysia lost to Vietnam due to fraudulent naturalization

Extremely strong collision, U23 Vietnam player unconscious on the field

Vietnam U23 player Thai Ba Dat passed out on the field after a collision in the 2025 National U21 qualifying match.

The matches of the 2025 National U21 Qualifiers began at the PVF Youth Football Training Center. The home team PVF faced a very strong opponent, Dong A Thanh Hoa, in the first match. The match was tense from the first minute with many fierce disputes.

In the 36th minute, Thanh Hoa defender Truong Thanh Nam jumped in to compete for the ball with Thai Ba Dat of PVF. The two players collided hard in the head area. Thai Ba Dat immediately lost consciousness and was immediately substituted off the field. Truong Thanh Nam continued to stand up and play in an unstable state.

After receiving medical care, Ba Dat regained consciousness. There were no signs of serious injury, but the player was still being monitored.

Ba Dat is a player of Vietnam U23 team, who has played for Vietnam U19 and U20. He was born in 2005 in Thanh Hoa and grew up from PVF youth training center. Meanwhile, Truong Thanh Nam has played 3 seasons in V.League for Thanh Hoa and left a certain mark in terms of expertise.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai strengthens foreign experts

Hoang Anh Gia Lai has just added a team of foreign experts to the coaching staff to enhance professional quality for the 2025/26 season.

The Mountain City team recruited goalkeeper coach Higor Felliny Cruz, a Brazilian expert with over 22 years of coaching experience. Mr. Higor, 45 years old, has worked at many Brazilian clubs such as Coritiba and Trieste, and holds a category A goalkeeper coach license from both the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and CONMEBOL.

With a solid professional background, Coach Higor is expected to bring positive changes to goalkeeper training at Hoang Anh Gia Lai, in the context of the team being strongly rejuvenated and reshaping its playing style. This is also the rare time that Mr. Duc brings a foreign goalkeeper coach to Pleiku Stadium.

In addition, Brazilian fitness coach Hugo Olivera Silva has also officially returned to the Mountain City to accompany the club in V.League 2025/26. Mr. Hugo worked with Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the early stages of last season and will continue to be in charge of improving the team's fitness.

The continuous addition of foreign experts shows that Hoang Anh Gia Lai is moving towards more professionalism and methodical training.

In addition, Hoang Anh Gia Lai has just welcomed the return of three young faces including Hoang Vinh Nguyen, Nguyen Quoc Viet and Nay Di Dan. Regarding foreign players, Hoang Anh Gia Lai will sign contracts with two Brazilian foreign players, ready for a comprehensive rebuild.

AFC denies news that Malaysia lost to Vietnam due to fraudulent naturalization

The above rumor originated from an Indonesian website. Accordingly, FIFA and AFC suspected that Malaysia provided fake documents to naturalize a number of Brazilian, Argentine, and Spanish players who were said to have Malaysian roots (through their parents or grandparents).

The source also said that FIFA and AFC decided to cancel the match between Malaysia and Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Not only that, the Malaysian team was awarded a 0-3 loss.

However, the authenticity of this information has been questioned since it was spread because it does not follow the processing procedures of FIFA and AFC. These agencies cannot make a decision without clear investigation results.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also denied using illegal players. FAM Secretary General Noor Azman said: "We have not received any request from FIFA or AFC. We comply with the regulations and deny all accusations."

"We have players of Malaysian origin who are verified by FIFA. Everything is thoroughly verified according to FIFA procedures," the New Straits Times quoted Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) President Joehari Ayub as saying.

Determine the Southeast Asian championship opponent with Hanoi Police Club, Nam Dinh

The two groups of the 2025-2026 Southeast Asian Cup were determined on the afternoon of July 4. Vietnam's representatives, Hanoi Police Club and Nam Dinh, determined their opponents after the draw organized by the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF).

Hanoi Police Club - the National Cup champions - are in Group A with Buriram United, Pathum United (Thailand), Selangor (Malaysia), Tampines Rovers (Singapore) and the winner of the play-off between Kasuka (Brunei) and Dynamic Herb Cebu (Philippines). Buriram United is a fateful opponent of Hanoi Police Club in the 2024-2025 season. The Vietnamese team won the group stage, not losing to their opponents in both final matches, but Buriram United was the champion.

Notably, in both decisive matches against the strongest team in Thailand, Hanoi Police Club took the lead. However, the goals conceded at the end of the match caused coach Alexandre Polking and his team to lose the victory. In the second leg of the final, Hanoi Police Club lost in the penalty shootout.

Pathum United are also formidable opponents. They finished third in the Thai League last season and reached the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Cup.

The remaining representative of Vietnamese football is Nam Dinh club in Group B. The V.League champion will face Bangkok United (Thailand), Johor Darul Tazim (Malaysia), Lion City Sailors (Singapore), Svay Rieng (Cambodia) and the winner of the play-off match between Ezra (Laos) and Shan United (Myanmar). Johor Darul Tazim and Bangkok United are the two strongest opponents of the Vietnamese representative in this group./.