Malaysia team and calculations before the match against Vietnam team

For many reasons, Mr. Tan Cheng-Hoe only brought 24 players to Singapore, instead of 30 as allowed by the AFF Cup regulations. Thus, 13 out of 24 Malaysian players will participate in the AFF Cup for the first time. If we take the match in the second qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup with Vietnam in June this year, 6 out of 11 players who started in the UAE were not on the list of players participating in the AFF Cup. Compared to the second leg of the 2018 AFF Cup final at My Dinh Stadium, 7 out of 11 players who started for Malaysia were absent from this tournament.

Change tactics

IfCoach Park Hang-seoMalaysia has made a big change in tactics after regularly using the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations. Compared to the 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 formation at the 2018 AFF Cup with the veteran duo Talaha and Adha, the current Malaysian team coached by Tan Cheng-Hoe often uses the 4-3-3 system with a single striker. Although he is 35 years old, naturalized player De Paula has still proven his qualities as a target man with perfect technique and physical strength. After 4 matches for the national team, the Brazilian player has scored 1 goal and has become his hope at the 2021 AFF Cup. Veteran strikers such as Idlan Talaha or Zaquan Adha are no longer in coach Tan Cheng-Hoe's plans.

It is not difficult for Malaysia to win against Laos, preparing for the match with Vietnam. Photo: AFF Cup Organizing Committee

Without the service of naturalized player Sumareh, Malaysia's strength on both flanks is still formidable. Right winger number 11 Safawi Rasid has now become an irreplaceable face. Meanwhile, young player born in 1999 Akhyar Rashid is also playing impressively to replace Sumareh. This name was once in the Malaysian squad participating in the AFF Cup 2018 and played a breakthrough individual role from the bench. They had 2 goals in the 3-1 victory in the match against Cambodia.

Substitute H.Luqman, when entering the De Paula field, also had an assist to help M.Raj, a player who had just entered the field as a substitute, score to increase the score to 3-0. This shows that coach Tan Cheng-Hoe has many quality players in his hands.Malaysia teamat AFF Cup 2021 has certain depth.

Use many veterans

In the match against Cambodia, Mr. Tan was pleased when the 33-year-old veteran Baddrol Bakhtiar, who faced the generation of Thanh Luong or Trong Hoang 10 years ago, did his job well. Mr. Tan was worried when the central midfielder duo Kenny Pallraj and Akram Mahinan were injured. Meanwhile, the most impressive midfielder in the national team in the last 2 years, naturalized player Brendan Gan, had cancer and could not play.

Midfielder Rashid was voted the best player of the match. Photo: AFF Cup Organizing Committee.

Coach Tan Cheng Hoe had to call up the veteran name of Malaysian football, born in 1988, number 8 Baddrol. The Malaysian player scored the most goals in the domestic league and won the title of best midfielder of the tournament this season. This will be a formidable opponent for Hoang Duc and Tuan Anh in the upcoming confrontation.

The defensive line was led by central defender Zafuan (born in 1987) and goalkeeper Khairul (born in 1989). Although he was 34 years old, Zafuan was still in good physical condition in the match against Cambodia, and he was still present at the hot spots on the field. Meanwhile, with his experience, goalkeeper Khairul did not deserve to receive a ridiculous yellow card at the end of the match against Cambodia.

Just like Mr. Park, the Malaysian team used all 5 reserve players because 3 days later they will meet the Lao team before meeting their opponent Vietnam. With their current strength, it is not difficult for Malaysia to win against their opponent Laos to prepare for the match that is considered tense with Que Ngoc Hai and the Vietnamese players.