Vietnam team breaks away from Malaysia, becomes the team with the most impressive start in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers

In the match that just ended on the night of March 25, Malaysia fielded 7 naturalized players. Most recently, they gave a chance to Hector Hevel, a midfielder who plays in the Portuguese National Championship and has just successfully naturalized.

Hector Hevel linked up with two other naturalised players, Nooa Laine and Endrick, to help Malaysia take complete control of the midfield. The yellow team opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a classy long-range shot from Hevel.

This goal helped Malaysia play comfortably. They created a series of chances but it was not until the 71st minute that the second goal came. The scorer was another naturalized player: Corbin Ong.

Malaysia won 2-0 against Nepal

The 2-0 result put Malaysia in second place in Group F with 3 points, equal to Vietnam, who defeated Laos 5-0, but far behind in terms of additional indexes. Vietnam is also the Southeast Asian team that has had the best start in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. While Myanmar and Thailand won with difficulty, Vietnam scored 5 goals against Laos.

Meanwhile, the Philippines also left a strong impression with a 4-1 victory over the Maldives. After the success at the ASEAN Cup 2024, the Philippines has brought into play the youthfulness of the new generation of naturalized players. They continuously scored against the Maldives thanks to the excellence of Reyes, Tabinas and Kristensen to win 4-1, breaking away from the group with Tajikistan.

The Southeast Asian teams that suffered defeats in their opening matches included Timor Leste, Laos and finally Brunei. Among them, Timor Leste impressed by forcing Tajikistan, a team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup, to win by a narrow margin. Timor Leste showed that they are not resigned to this qualifying campaign.

The next round of matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers will take place in June. In Group F, the focus will be on the match between Malaysia and Vietnam while Nepal will face Laos.

RESULTS OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN TEAMS IN THE OPENING MATCHES OF THE 2027 ASIAN CUP QUALIFICATIONS

Vietnam 5-0 Laos

Malaysia 2-0 Nepal

Singapore 0-0 Hong Kong China

Myanmar 2-1 Afghanistan

Thailand 1-0 Sri Lanka

Tajikistan 1-0 Timor Leste

Philippines 4-1 Maldives

Dang Lai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-but-pha-so-voi-malaysia-tro-thanh-doi-khoi-dau-vong-loai-asian-cup-2027-an-tuong-nhat-post1728215.tpo