" The seven Malaysian players abroad will add quality to the national team," Tunku Ismail, former president of the Football Association of Malaysia, who is in charge of the national team reform project, told Berita Harian. Malaysian football is following Indonesia's example, implementing a strategy to strengthen the national team with players of European blood.

In the match against Nepal last week, the Malaysian team used 8 naturalized players. Some were born in Europe but have Malaysian roots. Some cases like Romel Morales, Endrick... are South American foreign players who have played for a long time in the Malaysian national championship, and have just been naturalized.

The Malaysian Football Federation is pushing for naturalization procedures for seven new players before June. That is when the team nicknamed Harimau Malaya will gather again to play the second round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Their opponent is the Vietnamese team.

" This move is necessary to increase the possibility of qualifying for the Asian Cup. Fans always hope for the best for the Malaysian team. Looking at the current situation, it is undeniable that opportunities for young local players are getting fewer and fewer.

However, this is the price we have to pay in exchange for success as soon as possible. We have to accept this fact if we want the team to develop," Malaysian football expert Zulakbal Karim commented.

In the most recent match, with 7 naturalized players in the starting lineup and 1 player coming on in the second half, Malaysia defeated Nepal 2-0 at home. The team led by coach Peter Cklamovski is temporarily behind the Vietnam team (both with 3 points) due to inferior sub-index.