Malaysia national team calls up V-League star Endrick Dos Santos to play against Vietnam national team.

Coach Peter Cklamovski has officially announced the 28-player squad for the Malaysian national team preparing for their clash with Vietnam in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. The most notable inclusion in this squad is midfielder Endrick Dos Santos, who plays in the V-League and possesses a deep understanding of Vietnamese football.

Reinforcements from the V-League and a host of foreign stars.

The call-up of Endrick Dos Santos is seen as a strategic move by the coaching staff of the "Malayan Tigers". The midfielder moved to Vietnam to play in 2024 and is currently playing for Ho Chi Minh City Police FC. This season, Endrick has made 8 appearances and contributed 1 goal, including a 78-minute performance in the recent victory against PVF CAND.

Besides Endrick, this call-up also includes players currently playing abroad such as Dion Cools (Japan) and Daniel Ting (Thailand). Notably, coach Cklamovski continues to place his trust in the strong contingent of naturalized and foreign-born players such as Matthew Davies, Paulo Josue, Dominic Tan, and Nooa Laine, combined with veteran players Safawi Rashid, Faisal Halim, and Luqman Hakim.

The special setting of the match at Thien Truong Stadium.

The match between the Vietnamese and Malaysian national teams was scheduled to take place at 7 PM on March 31st at Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh. However, this match is now merely a formality as the Vietnamese team has already secured a place in the 2027 Asian Cup finals.

On the Malaysian side, the team has just suffered a major shock from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Due to violating regulations by using seven naturalized players who did not meet the standards, Malaysia was handed a 0-3 defeat in both previous matches against Nepal and Vietnam. The players involved in this penalty include: Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.

Preparation and travel plan

According to the schedule, the Malaysian national team will assemble on March 23rd. Coach Peter Cklamovski's team will travel to Bangkok (Thailand) for a short training camp before flying to Vietnam on March 28th. The entire team will have approximately three days to finalize their preparations in Nam Dinh before the official match.