Besides the match against Vietnam, Malaysia is at high risk of losing another game by default

Not only facing the risk of forfeiting the win against Vietnam's national team, Malaysia might also be penalized with a loss against Nepal.

FIFA has decided to sanction the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) along with seven naturalized players for violating player registration rules in the 4-0 victory over Vietnam during the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in June 2025. Besides the fine, these seven players have also been suspended for 12 months.

Although FIFA has not officially announced the match result sanctions, according to common football regulations, Malaysia is very likely to be handed a 0-3 loss against Vietnam’s national team. According to standard football rules, any team fielding even one ineligible player will be considered to have lost by a default score of 0-3.

In addition to the high risk of a 0-3 forfeit against Vietnam, Malaysia also faces the possibility of losing another match by default. Specifically, Malaysia used an ineligible naturalized player in their 2-0 win over Nepal in the first round of Group F in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in March 2025.

One of the naturalized players named among the seven mentioned by FIFA, Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano, even scored for Malaysia against Nepal. Obviously, these ineligible naturalized players significantly affected the outcomes of both Malaysia’s matches in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers and almost certainly will lead to forfeiture penalties.

If Malaysia is handed 0-3 forfeit losses in both matches against Vietnam and Nepal, they will drop to the bottom of Group F with zero points and a goal difference of -6. This would effectively end Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup finals and greatly boost Vietnam’s chances.

It is very likely that FIFA has not yet imposed sanctions on Malaysia for this match because the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers fall under the jurisdiction of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). After FIFA’s decision takes effect, the AFC Disciplinary Committee will review and decide on penalties for Malaysia’s violations in the match against Vietnam.