Vietnam National Team and the Naturalization Problem: Salvation or Dead End?

After more than a decade, the Vietnamese team has suffered such a heavy defeat against a rival in the Southeast Asian region. The 0-4 loss to Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers left fans stunned and questioning the quality, mettle, and long-term development direction of the country's football.

Immediately after the final whistle at Bukit Jalil, a wave of debate broke out fiercely. One view is that it is time for Vietnam to boldly naturalize players, like Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have been doing. In fact, the Malaysian team in the last match used 9/11 naturalized players.

Newcomers like Joao Figueiredo (Brazil) and Rodrigo Holgado (Argentina) both shined with goals, while European-born players like Corbin-Ong and Dion Cools continued to make a difference. Malaysia's resounding victory somewhat reinforced the argument that naturalizing players is the shortest way to improve the team's strength.

However, football is not just about the numbers on the scoreboard. The national team, to a greater extent, is a spiritual symbol, an embodiment of culture and national identity. Therefore, the mass naturalization of foreign players, although it may bring certain results in the short term, also has many unpredictable consequences in the long term.

Even Malaysia, despite its recent victory, is facing a wave of negative public opinion in the country. Many are concerned that the national team is gradually losing its identity as local players have no room to develop. That is the downside that any footballing nation must face when choosing the path of mass naturalization.

In the case of Vietnamese football, the question is: if we naturalize, who will we naturalize? Compared to neighboring countries such as Malaysia or Indonesia, our source of overseas Vietnamese players is not large in quantity and not diverse in quality. Some players of Vietnamese origin currently playing abroad often choose to serve the national team where they live, where there are better conditions for development and greater opportunities to compete.

Those who really want to play for the Vietnamese national team face many obstacles in terms of legal procedures, finance and competition environment. In the context of limited budget for football, the ability to recruit high-class overseas Vietnamese players is almost impossible.

On the other hand, some foreign players who have been involved in Vietnamese football for a long time have also begun to be mentioned as potential candidates for naturalization. However, this list is not long. Names like Hendrio or Geovane are all over 30 years old, while other players of Vietnamese origin have not shown clear superiority over domestic players. Not everyone has the desire to contribute to the national team like striker Nguyen Xuan Son.

While the debate on naturalization continues, another direction is being proposed: following the model of sustainable football development like Japan and Uzbekistan. Japan does not have the advantage of physical strength, but has built a solid foundation through systematic youth training for more than three decades.

The synchronous investment from football academies, coaches and national policies has helped Japan produce a generation of well-rounded players, capable of competing in Europe and competing on equal terms with the world's top teams. Japanese central defenders are often over 1m85 tall, especially in positions that require aerial strength, while the midfielders, although small, possess excellent physical strength and fighting spirit.

Uzbekistan is a different case but also worth learning from. With superior physicality compared to other Southeast Asian countries, this Central Asian team has persistently pursued a youth training strategy instead of looking for short-term solutions. That effort has been rewarded with a ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals, a result of vision and perseverance.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that Vietnamese football is facing two choices. The first is to focus on investing in systematic youth training, improving the physical and technical level of domestic players. The second is to selectively naturalize, only using truly excellent players with the desire to contribute, not mass naturalization following the trend.

The loss to Malaysia may have been a painful fall, but if we know how to stand up properly, Vietnamese football still has a chance to rise. The problem is how we choose to stand up. Should we follow the trend of naturalization to win short-term victories or accept long-term investment to build a sustainable foundation?

No one denies that naturalization can be a supportive solution in times of crisis. However, if it is considered a lifesaver, Vietnamese football is at risk of falling into a dead end. Because when identity is lost, development becomes only a formality, and victories become hollow.

The recent defeat is a stark reminder that if we do not change, we will continue to fall behind. And to change, we must first have a clear vision, a specific path, and above all, a unanimous determination from the entire system, from football professionals, players to fans.

We may not go fast, but we must go right. Because only then can Vietnamese football hope to reach real heights./.

Hai Hoang