Malaysia is afraid of losing and withdrew from the Central Asian tournament due to lack of naturalized players.

According to FAM, many naturalized players playing in Spain, Argentina, Colombia and Japan cannot return to join the national team because the organizers moved the match up a few days, causing the match schedule to fall outside of FIFA Days, from August 29 to September 8, instead of September 1 to 9.

What Happens to the Results?

This forced Malaysia to use only domestic players and their competitiveness was significantly reduced, at the same time posing a risk of falling in the FIFA rankings. Faced with this situation, FAM was forced to withdraw to preserve their achievements and ensure their long-term plans.

Malaysia were drawn into the same group as Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan and confirmed their participation on June 23, before withdrawing at the last minute. If they continue to participate and Malaysia make it through the group stage, they will face strong opponents such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan or Oman in the next round.

That makes the country's Football Federation concerned that without the strongest squad, participating in the tournament no longer has strategic significance.

Head coach Peter Cklamovski admitted that this was a difficult but necessary decision, in order to best prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in October and November. He also frankly said that over-reliance on naturalized players is causing many problems, both professionally and in public opinion.

Despite making a strong impression with their victory over Vietnam in June, this decision shows that Malaysia is still not confident enough to reach higher goals in the continental arena.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/malaysia-so-thua-rut-khoi-giai-trung-a-vi-thieu-cau-thu-nhap-tich-196250716191309853.htm