Sao Aguero's naturalization brings bad news for Malaysia national team ahead of rematch with Vietnam

Sergio Aguero and two other key players of Malaysia national team are reportedly set to join their teammates late in Thailand before traveling to Vietnam.

According to journalist Zulhelmi Zainal Azam from Astro Arena, three pillars of Malaysia national team including Daniel Ting, Dion Cools and Sergio Aguero will join late in this training camp.

In the first training session, Malaysia national team had 25 players present, missing the aforementioned trio as they are competing in Thailand. It is expected that all three will arrive in Bangkok within one or two days to join the whole team before moving to Vietnam to prepare for the final match in Group F of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

Currently, Daniel Ting and Sergio Aguero, naturalized players of Malaysian origin, respectively play for Ratchaburi FC and Kanchanaburi Power in Thai League 1. Meanwhile, Dion Cools will join the team later after completing his duties with Cerezo Osaka, where he recently contributed to the team's victory over Vissel Kobe.

During this period, Malaysia national team will utilize the facilities at BG Pathum United training center to prepare for the encounter with Vietnam on March 31.

Last week, Malaysia national team received a heavy penalty from the Asian Football Confederation when they were handed a 0-3 defeat in two matches of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, respectively against Nepal and Vietnam. The cause stems from the Malaysian Football Federation being found to have falsified naturalization documents for seven players, thereby directly affecting the results of these matches.

The consequence not only stops at "Malayan Tigers" losing their ticket to the Asian Cup 2027 finals to Vietnam national team, but they also were deducted points on the FIFA ranking, dropping 14 places to position 135.

Although the chance to reverse the situation has closed, coach Peter Cklamovski and his players still aim to achieve a positive result at Thiên Trường Stadium, as a way to soothe the disappointment of fans.

While Vietnam national team has a friendly match with Bangladesh to warm up, Malaysia national team chooses to train in Thailand before moving to Vietnam, aiming for a victory.

The match between Vietnam national team and Malaysia national team will take place at 19:00 on March 31.