Malaysia invites former player Tim Cahill to raise the level of the team, to compete with Kim Sang-sik and his team

In the latest cryptic post of Mr. Tunku Ismail Idris on the Instagram social network account timeline, it has brought great excitement to Malaysian fans, when the owner of JDT Club revealed the possibility of expanding his sports empire and increasing the ability to support FAM to help the team conquer the ticket to the final round of the Asian Cup 2027, the New Straits Times reported on February 22.

Vietnam and Malaysia will compete for the only spot in the 2027 Asian Cup finals.

In the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Malaysia is in Group F with Vietnam, and two weaker opponents, Nepal and Laos. Only the top team will qualify for the finals. Therefore, it can be seen that Malaysia and Vietnam will fight to the death to compete for the only ticket in the group to continue.

Vietnam and Malaysia will play their opening matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Laos and Nepal, respectively, on March 25.

Before these meetings, coach Kim Sang-sik's team (Vietnam) will have an international friendly match against the Cambodian team on March 19 (both at Go Dau Stadium in Binh Duong). Meanwhile, the Malaysian team, with the introduction of a new coach, Australian Peter Cklamovski, has not yet scheduled a friendly match, and for now they are only preparing for a match against Nepal.

In June, Malaysia will host Vietnam in the first leg at Bukit Jalil Stadium, with the result likely to be decisive in determining which of the two teams will secure the sole berth in the group. The return leg will take place in March 2026.

"Bloodline… Big things are coming…", the cryptic message posted by Tunku Ismail Idris on Instagram recently, along with a photo of him with UFC fighter, Soa Palelei (Australian), famous New Zealand rugby player, Sonny Bill Williams and especially, former Australian football player, Tim Cahill was also present.

Coach Kim Sang-sik of the Vietnam team

Tim Cahill played and scored at three World Cups in 2006, 2010, and 2014. He also played for many years for famous clubs in the English Premier League such as Everton and Millwall.

"Few people know, but Tim Cahill has been involved in Malaysia's national football project, to raise the level of the team from the introduction of Mr. Tunku Ismail Idris.

Tim Cahill was instrumental in FAM appointing the new head coach of the Malaysian national team, Peter Cklamovski. He also recruited sports medicine and performance expert Craig Duncan. In addition, Tim Cahill also brought in Rob Friend, a former player and co-founder of the Canadian National Championship, to become the CEO of the Malaysian national team," according to the New Straits Times .

These moves, along with the intention to propose naturalizing many quality foreign players from JDT Club to play for the Malaysian national team, may start from next June. Mr. Tunku Ismail Idris is determined to support FAM in many areas.

In addition, he continues to strengthen JDT, the team that is helping Malaysian football rise sharply in the rankings of clubs in Asia (ranked only after Saudi Arabia and Japan, according to FootyRankings ), thanks to extremely successful competition in the AFC Champions League Elite season 2024 - 2025 (entering the round of 16), the New Straits Times emphasized.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/malaysia-moi-cuu-danh-thu-tim-cahill-nang-tam-doi-tuyen-quyet-dau-thay-tro-kim-sang-sik-185250222113055583.htm