History of confrontations with Malaysia: Good news for coach Kim Sang-sik and his team

Before the important confrontation with the Malaysian team in the second qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, the Vietnamese team not only prepared carefully in terms of expertise but also received support from their impressive head-to-head record in the past.

However, coach Kim Sang-sik remained cautious, emphasizing that each match is a new challenge and the whole team needs to maintain maximum concentration to achieve favorable results.

Recent head-to-head history shows that the Vietnamese team has a clear advantage over Malaysia. In the last 5 encounters, the red-shirted players have won convincingly. Notably, in the 2020 and 2022 AFF Championships, Vietnam defeated Malaysia in the group stage with the same score of 3-0, demonstrating superiority in both tactics and competitive spirit.

In the second qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Vietnamese team continued to assert its position by defeating Malaysia in both matches, with a 1-0 victory at My Dinh Stadium and 2-1 at the neutral Al Maktoum Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.

Notably, the last time Vietnam played at Bukit Jalil was in the first leg of the 2018 AFF Championship final. At that time, the Vietnamese team held Malaysia to a 2-2 draw before winning 1-0 in the second leg at My Dinh Stadium to win the championship. These results show the mettle and stability of the Vietnamese team every time they face a team from the Malay peninsula.

Although the past favors,Coach Kim Sang-sikThat is not a reason to be complacent. He highly appreciates Malaysia with a squad with many new additions, including nearly 10 naturalized players. The Korean coach admits that this makes it more difficult to analyze the opponent's tactics, but the coaching staff will continue to research to come up with optimal solutions to control the game.

One of the notable bright spots of the Vietnamese team in this training session is the quick integration of the Vietnamese-American defender.Cao Pendant Quang VinhCoach Kim Sang-sik highly appreciates this player for his versatility in many positions such as left center back, full back and even winger. Quang Vinh's flexibility is expected to help the Vietnamese team diversify their playing style in the upcoming match.

Facing the pressure from more than 80,000 fans at Bukit Jalil Stadium, coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that he and his players were not afraid. He said that the Vietnamese team had experience competing in a similar atmosphere, especially the final match of the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship at Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand. According to him, the most important thing is that the players must have faith in themselves and their teammates to overcome all the pressure.

Before leaving for Malaysia on June 6, coach Kim Sang-sik affirmed that the Vietnamese team is preparing thoroughly in terms of physical strength, tactics and spirit. He emphasized that the team's goal is to win, play with solidarity and not lose any points in the race for a ticket to the 2027 AFC Asian Cup finals.

Captain Do Duy Manh also added to the team’s determination by saying that the whole team understands that this is a difficult match. However, the players will absolutely follow the tactical instructions from the coaching staff and maximize their solidarity to aim for the best results on the away field.

With confidence, serious preparation and support from the history of confrontation, the Vietnamese team is aiming to extend its impressive streak of achievements against Malaysia. A victory right at Bukit Jalil Stadium will not only strengthen the position of Vietnamese football in the region, but also open up favorable opportunities in the journey to win a ticket to the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup in Group F./.