The 3-1 victory over Malaysia at Thien Truong Stadium on March 31 gave Vietnam six wins from six qualifying matches and 18 points atop Group F. The result helped the team surge nine places to 99th in the FIFA rankings released April 1, the biggest climb of any nation in the update. Vietnam and Thailand, at 93rd, became the first two Southeast Asian teams to sit simultaneously in the FIFA top 100 since 2005.
“Vietnam, with two naturalized stars, are truly the strongest in the region,” Zulhelmi Zainal Azam, an analyst for Malaysian broadcaster Astro Arenasaid on the Nadi Arena program on April 3. “It’s unfair to compare the two teams.”
The naturalized duo of Nguyen Xuan Son and Do Hoang Hen, both from Brazil, have reshaped Vietnam’s attacking threat. Son, who obtained Vietnamese citizenship in September 2024, scored both second-half goals against Malaysia with headers in the 51st and 59th minutes, demonstrating the aerial dominance and positioning that have made him the most prolific scorer in the V-League.
Hen, who became a Vietnamese citizen in October 2025, provided the cross for Son’s first goal and was involved in attacking play throughout his international debut.
The contrast with Malaysia’s own naturalization strategy could hardly be starker. Seven Malaysian naturalized players were sanctioned by FIFA in September 2025 for using falsified eligibility documents. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the sanctions in March 2026, and the AFC overturned Malaysia’s victories in two qualifying matches from last year, against Vietnam and Nepal, effectively ending the team’s Asian Cup hopes before the final matchday.
Zulhelmi said the scandal weighed heavily on the squad. “Imagine going into an exam under enormous pressure; that’s a completely different situation,” he said.
Head coach Peter Cklamovski has faced heavy criticism since the loss, with many Malaysians comparing him unfavorably to predecessor Kim Pan-gon, under whom Malaysia qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time in over four decades.
Zulhelmi defended the Australian coach: “Under Kim, Malaysia didn’t have to deal with these kinds of problems. Cklamovski is not the reason for Malaysia’s recent failures.”
Still, Zulhelmi argued Malaysia did not play as poorly on March 31 as the scoreline suggested, pointing to chances created by Faisal Halim and Safawi Rasid. “We had moments of pressure and created opportunities, but couldn’t convert them into goals,” he said.
Zulhelmi said Malaysian football needs structural reform, mentioning the possibility of an extraordinary congress to elect new FAM leadership. Malaysia will also continue scouting players of mixed heritage, with a player of British or Australian descent potentially joining the squad in the near future.
For Vietnam, the next test is defending their ASEAN Cup title at the tournament running from July 24 to Aug. 26.
Kim Sang-sik’s side, the reigning champions after defeating Vietnam in the 2024 edition, will enter as favorites in what is shaping up as the strongest period for Vietnamese football in a generation.
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