Malaysian defender aims to create a sweet moment in Vietnam

Malaysian team captain Dion Cools admits he desires to score another goal against Vietnam when the two teams meet in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifier tomorrow evening, March 31.

The player currently playing for Cerezo Osaka (Japan) previously scored a goal in the match at Bukit Jalil Stadium in June last year. However, the 4-0 victory at that time was invalidated due to issues related to seven naturalized players.

According to Cools, he always sets the goal of scoring in every match, and that is no exception when facing Vietnam at Thiên Trường Stadium (Ninh Bình).

"Certainly I want to score more goals; that is always my objective in any match."

Malaysia's defense is also not intimidated even though the Vietnamese team will be reinforced with four new players in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifier match.

According to captain Dion Cools, the national team has had the best preparation throughout the past week in Bangkok (Thailand), including detailed analysis of each opponent's skills, including Vietnam's naturalized players such as Xuân Son, Đỗ Hoàng Hên, and Văn Hậu.

"As with every other match, we respect the opponent and analyze them thoroughly, so we know what will happen.

We also know we have quality players, so we need to perform at our highest level to challenge them and create a good match. We know what we need to do," he said at the press conference this afternoon.

Sharing the same viewpoint, Malaysian head coach Peter Cklamovski demands his players to focus fully on the upcoming match.

He stated that the team needs to focus on what is within their control and execute the plan as best as possible to achieve a positive result at Thiên Trường Stadium.

"They (Xuân Son, Đỗ Hoàng Hên, and Văn Hậu) are all very good players, and Vietnam is a very strong team.

We focus on what we can control as well as the factors we need to execute to achieve a good result.

We respect every opponent and will continue to do so in tomorrow evening's match, working hard to secure victory," the Australian coach said.