Malaysia and their hopes ahead of the Vietnam national team

Malaysia approaches the ASEAN Cup 2026 semifinals as the team with lower expectations, yet head coach Tan Cheng Hoe is keen to avoid letting his past defeats against Vietnam become a psychological burden once more.

Coach Tan Cheng Hoe has tasted bitter defeats many times againstthe Vietnam national team, but his return to lead Malaysia also brings a squad with familiar faces capable of springing a surprise.

The most striking aspect of howCoach Tan Cheng Hoehas built this Malaysia team is his considerable trust in players who have faced Vietnam multiple times.

Paulo Josue, Sergio Aguero, and Mohamadou Sumareh are all names very familiar to regional football.

Among them, Paulo Josue is the most dangerous spearhead, having scored 3 of Malaysia's total 7 goals in the group stage, while also competing for the top scorer title with Dinh Bac.

Josue is older and no longer maintains the physical foundation of his peak years, but his experience is precisely what makes the Brazilian-born naturalized striker dangerous. Josue may not need many opportunities to make a difference, especially in aerial duels or when the opposing defense makes mistakes.

Sumareh is also a name that the Vietnam national team needs to pay special attention to. The 32-year-old player caused plenty of difficulties for Vietnam in the 2018 AFF Cup and the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

However, Malaysia's new strength lies not only in its veterans. Pavithran Gunalan, just 21 years old, is emerging as a notable discovery. The Johor Darul Ta'zim player possesses speed, height, aerial ability, and is particularly dangerous when starting from the left flank.

In the 1-0 win over the Philippines, it was the combination between Wan Kuzain and Gunalan that produced the decisive goal. Kuzain, 28, who plays in the US for Sporting Jax, provided the pass for Gunalan to score. After Endrick Dos Santos suffered an injury and had to leave the tournament, Kuzain has somewhat filled the void left by the Brazilian-born naturalized striker.

This is also the basis for Malaysia's hope. They have pace on the wings, players who know how to exploit spaces, and especially possess quite effective aerial play.

But Malaysia also has weaknesses that Vietnam can exploit. Coach Tan Cheng Hoe's defense has not yet provided reassurance. The lack of experienced defenders makes the coordination between center-backs and full-backs not really solid. Malaysia conceded 3 goals in the group stage and has allowed opponents to create many gaps behind the defense.

In particular, the left flank remains an area that gives Coach Tan Cheng Hoe headaches as personnel are constantly changed. This could become an attacking point that Coach Kim Sang Sik will target.

Truong Tien Anh with his highly accurate passes, or Hai Long and Dinh Bac with their speed and ability to move into spaces, can completely create situations that shake Malaysia's defense.

An even bigger issue for Malaysia is that they face a Vietnam side that possesses the strongest attack in the group stage with 13 goals. Notably, that strength does not rely entirely on naturalized players. Dinh Bac has emerged with 5 goals, while Hoang Duc, Thanh Long, Hai Long, Van Vi, and many other players all have the ability to make a difference.

That is the biggest difference between the two teams. Malaysia has dangerous sharp points, but Vietnam has many ways to score.Coach Tan Cheng Hoeunderstands Vietnam's strength very well. He has had 6 encounters with the Vietnam national team in the 2018-2021 period, with only one draw and as many as 5 defeats.