Asian Cup 2027: Malaysia takes top spot in Group F after beating Vietnam

The Vietnamese team (in red) lost 0-4 to Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Photo: Malaysia NT

After the first half was somewhat more dominant but failed to score, the home team attacked the Vietnamese team's goal and scored 3 consecutive goals within the first 20 minutes of the second half, in the 49th, 59th and 67th minutes.

Although the Vietnamese team actively pushed up their formation to find a goal to shorten the score, the Malaysian defense defended very tightly.

Tuan Hai had several opportunities to penetrate Malaysia's penalty area, but could not take advantage of the scoring opportunities due to the great pressure from Malaysia's defense.

Tien Linh also made a dangerous header in the 79th minute but could not beat the opposing team's goalkeeper. Under the pressure of the home team, the Vietnamese defense could not hold out, and goalkeeper Filip Nguyen had to pick the ball out of the net again in the 88th minute.

Malaysia is considered the most formidable opponent in Group F in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup when naturalizing 7 quality players after the 2024 ASEAN Cup.

In this match against the Vietnamese team at home, Malaysia's official lineup includes 9 naturalized players.

After a heavy defeat against Malaysia, the Vietnamese team (3 points/2 matches) lost the top spot in Group F to Malaysia (6 points/2 matches) and fell into a disadvantageous position in the race for the right to continue.

With the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers counting the head-to-head results in case two teams have the same number of points, the Vietnam team will need to "get revenge" on Malaysia in the second leg to keep the hope of winning the only ticket to the final round of the tournament.

Responding to the press conference after the match, coach Kim Sang Sik apologized to all Vietnamese fans.

According to him, in the first half, the players played exactly as planned. However, in the second half, defender Nguyen Thanh Chung was injured and forced to leave the field, which was the biggest reason why the team's defense structure was broken and led to today's heavy defeat.

Evaluating his players, coach Kim Sang Sik said that the Vietnamese players tried very hard but the results were not as expected, so he felt responsible for this result.

Even though the team lost, with quality players like Hoang Duc and some new players, we can still develop and be confident in the next matches.