Malaysian media warns Vietnam national team as 7 naturalized players return

Malaysian press reports indicate that the FIFA ranking gap between Malaysia and Vietnam is narrowing, coinciding with the return of 7 naturalized players to Malaysian football.

According to MakanBola’s article, “Malaysia is gradually closing in on Vietnam’s position in the latest FIFA rankings.” In the FIFA update released on January 20th, Malaysia remains ranked 121st worldwide, while Vietnam unexpectedly dropped one place.

Makanbola wrote: “In the FIFA update on January 20th, Malaysia stays at 121st in the world, whereas Vietnam fell one spot to 108th. Vietnam’s decline also means the gap between Coach Kim Sang-sik’s team and Malaysia is now only 13 places, significantly reduced compared to before.”

Notably, Malaysia’s hope to improve its FIFA ranking coincides with new developments from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On the evening of January 26th, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) confirmed CAS has approved a request to temporarily suspend sanctions against 7 naturalized players of the national team, including Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, and Héctor Hevel.

This decision means the 12-month ban imposed by FIFA is temporarily lifted, allowing these players to continue competing at club level and participate in football activities until CAS issues a final ruling on the appeal. This is considered a crucial “breath of fresh air” for Malaysian football, as FAM faces heavy pressure following accusations of using forged documents during the eligibility verification of the naturalized players.

Previously, in September 2025, FIFA handed down a severe penalty: FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs, while each player received a 12-month ban and a 2,000 Swiss franc fine. Although FAM appealed to the FIFA Appeal Committee without success, they escalated the case to CAS and requested a temporary measure to protect the players' rights.

In this context, the shrinking FIFA ranking gap between Malaysia and Vietnam has become an even more focused topic, especially as the two teams prepare to face each other directly. Malaysian media emphasizes: “The ranking difference between the two teams will definitely draw attention when Vietnam hosts Malaysia in the final round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on March 31st.”