Meeting Vietnam's team, Malaysia's ace player emerges

The Malaysian national team can continue to rely on naturalized midfielder Endrick dos Santos to leverage his internal familiarity, thereby gaining an advantage over Vietnam in the final Group F Asian Cup qualifier at 19:00 tomorrow, March 31.

The 31-year-old Brazilian-born player, currently a key figure for Ho Chi Minh City FC in V.League, played a crucial role in Malaysia's 4-0 victory last year, though that result was later annulled.

Endrick's familiarity with the opponent helped his teammates find breakthrough strategies in that match. Dos Santos is ready to once again play a pivotal role, aiming to help Malaysia conclude their campaign with a positive result.

He stated that he understands many members of the Vietnam national team well, thanks to his time playing in V-League.

"Nguyễn Xuân Son (Rafaelson Bezerra) has returned to the national team, and we all know his scoring ability both at club and national level.

Hendrio Araujo is also a quality playmaker, so it will be interesting to face him in midfield.

I had three teammates at the club called up to the preliminary list, but they were not in the final roster, some due to incomplete naturalization procedures, others due to the coach's decision."

Although Malaysia has been eliminated from the Asian Cup due to two previous wins being annulled for using ineligible players, Dos Santos still affirmed his pride in representing the national team.

"Representing Malaysia is always an honor, and I am very happy to be called up. Like everyone, I am very sad about what happened.

But as professional players, we put everything aside to focus on giving our best for the country and trying to bring joy to the fans."