Malaysia team raises its position, invited to replace Russia in tournament with many strong teams

According to Malaysian newspapers, the Football Association of Malaysia has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2025 Central Asian Championship. This is a playground for teams belonging to the Central Asian Football Federation, equivalent to the Southeast Asian Championship or the East Asian Cup. However, because there are few teams in this region, there will usually be a guest team each time it is held. This year, Malaysia and Oman will participate in this category.

Malaysia was not the organizers' initial choice. But since Russia declined, the Southeast Asian representative got a ticket. It will give them the opportunity to test their skills against top football nations like Iran and Uzbekistan, as well as formidable teams like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.

Malaysia has significantly improved its competitiveness by naturalizing a series of quality players from Europe and South America. The upcoming matches will be a real challenge for this star squad. Although its position in the FIFA rankings is not high (131), only higher than Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, Malaysia is expected to be able to compete on par with the average and above average teams in the continent.

The East Asian Championship is held every two years, but this year is the second time the tournament has taken place. According to the plan, the event will start from August 28 to September 9 in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. This is considered a good opportunity for the teams before entering the FIFA Days series in October. Malaysia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan will participate in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers while Oman will "fight to the death" in the final qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tuyen-malaysia-nang-cao-vi-the-duoc-moi-the-cho-nga-du-giai-dau-voi-nhieu-doi-manh-post1752593.tpo