Vietnam team gathers at the end of May to play Malaysia

Vietnam team celebrates victory over Laos - Photo: NK

The Vietnamese team defeated Laos 5-0 in the opening match of Group F of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup on the evening of March 25 in Binh Duong. Today, the players will return to their home clubs to compete in the National Cup and V-League 2024-2025 before reuniting at the end of May.

Specifically, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team are expected to gather in Hanoi on May 26 (after round 24 of V-League 2024-2025) to prepare for the match against host Malaysia in the second round of Group F of the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup on June 10.

This is an important match for both Vietnam and Malaysia in competing for the only ticket in Group F to the final round. After the first leg in Malaysia on June 10, the two teams will play again in the second leg in Vietnam on March 31, 2026.

The venues for these two matches have yet to be announced by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).

In the opening match of the 2027 Asian Cup, the Malaysian team hosted Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (in Joho) with a capacity of 40,000 seats, instead of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium (Kuala Lumpur) with nearly 90,000 seats.

Dutch midfielder Hector Hevel (13) celebrates his goal in his debut match for the Malaysian national team - Photo: FAM

In the match against Malaysia next June, the Vietnamese team will still not have naturalized striker Nguyen Xuan Son because he is in the process of recovering from injury.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian team showed to be stronger than the ASEAN Cup 2024 when it had the strongest force from Johor Darul Ta'zim Club (7 players). Especially when Malaysia also had new naturalized players.

In the 2-0 win over Nepal, the Malaysian team debuted naturalized midfielder Hector Hevel, who is playing in Portugal.

The former Netherlands U20 international not only scored the opening goal from outside the box but also played brilliantly, earning him the "Man of the Match" award.

Coach Peter Cklamovski has called up two new naturalized players to the Malaysian team to prepare for the match against Nepal. However, only Hector Hevel will be on the field, while left-back Gabriel Palmero (of Spanish origin) is not registered in the match list.

Vietnam team has more overseas Vietnamese players

A notable change for the Vietnamese team in the upcoming FIFA Days in June could be the presence of left-back Jason Quang Vinh. This Vietnamese-French player has just acquired Vietnamese citizenship and will be given a chance by coach Kim Sang Sik.

In addition, it is not excluded that the French coach will promote Vietnamese-Russian midfielder Viktor Le to the Vietnam national team. Because Viktor Le has just played outstandingly for the Vietnam U22 team at the CFA China Team 2025 Friendly Tournament.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-hoi-quan-vao-cuoi-thang-5-de-dau-malaysia-20250326102254351.htm