AFC exclaims as Malaysia continues to lead the Asian Cup qualifiers

The official fanpage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) praised the Malaysian national team after their 3-0 victory over Laos.

Without the 7 naturalized stars banned by FIFA, Malaysia fielded a squad mostly composed of local players, with Romel Morales as the sole naturalized player starting. On the bench were two other naturalized players, Paulo Josue and Sergio Aguero.

With a relatively unfamiliar lineup, Malaysia faced challenges against the hosts Laos, who played defensively from the start. The first half ended in a 0-0 draw with a rather deadlocked game. However, in the second half, Malaysia played energetically and scored consecutively to secure a 3-0 final win.

Regarding Malaysia's display, the official AFC fanpage wrote: "Malaysia has achieved 3 impressive consecutive wins in Group F." With the 3-0 win over Laos, the "Malayan Tigers" have earned a full 9 points in the Asian Cup qualifiers and continue to top Group F.

In the other Group F match, Vietnam also won 3-1 against Nepal. Coach Kim Sang Sik's team is closing in on Malaysia, holding second place and trailing by 3 points. However, the group standings remain complicated as AFC has yet to finalize sanctions against Malaysia.

Although Malaysia is barred from using the 7 naturalized players mentioned, they are still allowed to complete the entire 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. The deadline for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to finalize legal procedures is March 31, the same day as the final Group F match between Vietnam and Malaysia.

Therefore, the AFC will only issue its final decision on the penalty against the Malaysian Football Association after the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers conclude. Whether Vietnam will be awarded a win or advance depends on the outcome after the last match on March 31. Both Vietnam and Malaysia must now focus on performing their best before the final ruling on the sanctions.