Malaysia (yellow shirt) has had many relationships with Vietnam at all levels of football over the years - Photo: VFFM
"Different level, but same old story," Malaysia's New Straits Times headlined after the draw for men's football at the 2025 SEA Games.
Accordingly, Vietnam, Malaysia and Laos are in the same group, recreating the group stage of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers (excluding Nepal).
Malaysia's leading newspaper commented that Vietnam is the team that has a lot of connections with Malaysia, at all national team levels.
At the 2024 AFC U23 Championship, Malaysia was also in the same group with Vietnam. Malaysia lost 0-2 and accepted the bottom position in Group D with 0 points.
Recently, the scandal of illegal naturalization of players has plunged the Malaysian football world into controversy. Among them, the New Straits Times is the newspaper that has most strongly criticized FAM's shady way of working.
"While homegrown footballers like Faisal Halim and Arif Aiman continue to inspire on the pitch, FAM administrators are struggling to explain why they have dragged the country into an embarrassing scandal," the New Straits Times commented in an article published on October 19.
They then published an article to cheer up Mr. Nafuzi Zain - the coach who led Malaysia in the Southeast Asian U23 Championship in June, and will continue to lead the team at the 2025 SEA Games.
"I'm not too worried about what people call 'trials' and 'failures'. I still believe in this team," NST quoted Mr. Zain.
Arif Aiman is a native Malaysian player - Photo: NST
In the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship, Malaysia only used 2 naturalized players, Fergus Tierney and El Basheer. Both have clear Malaysian origins. And according to Malaysian media, this is an acceptable number.
"At 23, Arif Aiman continues to redefine what Malaysian homegrown footballers can achieve," New Straits Times used the football star to call on Malaysia to stop its mass naturalization policy.
Two days ago, Arif Aiman was nominated for AFC Player of the Year, an "unprecedented" honor for Malaysian football before.
"Malaysia has many good and young players. The SEA Games is an opportunity for Malaysia to bring such potential players to the international arena. At this age, please do not naturalize players," a Malaysian fan commented on the ASEAN Football fanpage.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/truyen-thong-malaysia-mong-fam-dung-nhap-tich-cau-thu-cho-sea-games-20251019172334068.htm
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