SHOCKING: Malaysia faces penalties worse than a loss against Vietnam's national team

There is a possibility that the March 2026 second leg encounter between Vietnam and Malaysia will be canceled.

As previously reported, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has recently received the latest sanction from FIFA's Disciplinary Committee during the meeting on December 12, 2025, concerning the use of ineligible players.

The unauthorized use of 7 naturalized players has caused Malaysia to officially forfeit three friendly matches against Cape Verde, Singapore, and Palestine in 2025 with a 0-3 scoreline. This makes the prospect of Vietnam being awarded a win over Malaysia for the 0-4 loss in June 2025 clearer than ever.

If the AFC follows FIFA’s recent actions, Malaysia will be handed defeats for the two qualifying matches against Nepal and Vietnam, allowing Vietnam to advance without worrying about the final round result against Malaysia in March 2026. Currently, AFC is awaiting the final decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) before officially announcing the penalty.

However, the match might not even be held. Regional media suggest that AFC could ban Malaysia from participating in two consecutive Asian Cup finals in 2027 and 2031. If this sanction is imposed before March 31, 2026, the match between Vietnam and Malaysia will be unnecessary.

At present, the Football Association of Malaysia is still appealing to CASregarding the use of ineligible naturalized players in two Asian Cup 2027 qualifying matches against Nepal and Vietnam. No official penalty has been issued yet.

The reason is that Asian Cup qualifiers fall under AFC’s jurisdiction. AFC will issue a final ruling after receiving the full decision from FIFA and CAS. Meanwhile, the three friendly matches are directly managed by FIFA. However, with this sanction, it is very likely that Vietnam will be awarded a 3-0 win.