Malaysian reporter: 'We have so many naturalized players, so we can't keep track of them all'

Before the training session of the Vietnamese team in Kuala Lumpur on the afternoon of June 8, reporter Zum of the sports channel Astro Arena (Malaysia) said that obtaining information about the naturalized players of the "Malaysian Tigers" is not simple, because the number of foreign-origin players on the current call-up list is quite large.

“Currently, Malaysia has many naturalized players from many different countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Australia, etc., so we cannot know each one of them. However, most of them have high professional quality and are playing important roles in the main squad,” reporter Zum shared.

He added that on June 7, the Malaysian team had reduced the list from 30 to 26 players to prepare for the match against the Vietnamese team. As expected, head coach Peter Cklamovski will eliminate 3 more players to finalize the final list.

Although the specific list of eliminated players has not been announced, with the current 26 names, experts in Malaysia can somewhat imagine the main squad that coach Peter Cklamovski will use in the confrontation with Vietnam. Accordingly, the squad is expected to include many naturalized faces, possibly up to 6-7 people if continuing to use the 3-4-3 formation like recent matches.

Some of the notable names include: Matthew Davies (Australian), La'Vere Corbin-Ong (Canadian), Dion Cools (Belgian), Hector Hevel (Dutch), Nooa Laine (Finnish), Romel Morales (Colombian), and Endrick (Brazilian). In particular, the central midfielder duo Hector Hevel and Nooa Laine are considered the "brains" of Malaysia in controlling the game, while Romel Morales or Endrick have the ability to create breakthroughs in the attack.

Sharing more about the Vietnamese team, reporter Zum said he had known names like Nguyen Xuan Son and Nguyen Cong Phuong. However, he also knew that Xuan Son could not participate in this training session due to injury. Meanwhile, Cong Phuong was also not on the list to compete in Malaysia.

Among the current players, the Malaysian reporter rated striker Nguyen Tien Linh the most highly. He commented: “Tien Linh is a player worth watching. He has good scoring ability and often caused difficulties for the Malaysian defense in previous confrontations.”

In addition, Hoang Duc and Hai Long are also two names that left an impression on the press of the neighboring country after outstanding performances at the AFF Cup 2024 and the friendly match between Southeast Asian stars and Manchester United.

Regarding the possibility of winning the upcoming match, reporter Zum thinks the odds are 50-50. He analyzed: “Although Malaysia has home field advantage, it is also difficult when many key players join the training late, especially the group playing abroad. Meanwhile, Vietnam will have to play under great pressure from the audience at Bukit Jalil Stadium. I think the result could be a 1-1 draw.”

Zum also said that although the Malaysian team started gathering in mid-May, the first gathering was mainly for young players. Key players playing abroad such as Dion Cools or Hector Hevel have only gathered in recent days, and the coaching staff is working hard to perfect the coordination and understanding within the squad.

The match between Malaysia and Vietnam will take place at 8:00 p.m. on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium./.