Malaysian media regard the victory over Vietnam as a major achievement in 2025

Malaysian football achieved remarkable milestones during 2025, highlighted especially by their victory over Vietnam.

Malaysia had a memorable 2025, particularly in futsal. According to Makanbola, the triumph over Vietnam was among the biggest successes.

“Coach Peter Cklamovski’s squad remained undefeated throughout 2025. Moreover, the team created several major surprises, including wins over Vietnam and Palestine,” commented Makanbola.

The Malaysian team leads Group F in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with a perfect 15 points, maintaining a 100% winning record in this group. A highlight includes their 4-0 win over Vietnam. Because the AFC has yet to deliver a ruling on Malaysia’s alleged illegal naturalization of players, their results have remained intact so far.

After the disappointment of missing out on the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, Malaysia’s U22 team quickly bounced back by securing bronze at the 2025 SEA Games. Despite facing challenges, including injuries, coach Nafuzi Zain’s squad earned their first SEA Games medal since 2005.

The year 2025 also saw the rise of Malaysian futsal. The national futsal team won bronze for the first time at a tournament held in Thailand that year.

“Although facing teams with higher FIFA rankings, this did not stop coach Rakhpol Sainetngam’s players from causing upsets, including a 4-2 win over Vietnam and a dominant 8-1 victory against Myanmar, securing Malaysia’s first futsal medal since 2017. This is also considered an ideal preparation for the 2026 AFC Futsal Championship,”Makanbola observed.

Coach Rakhpol’s impact extended further as he led Malaysia’s U19 futsal team to third place at the ASEAN U19 Futsal Cup. Although the tournament served as international experience building, the team successfully reached the semifinals.

Furthermore, the U19 futsal team competed evenly against all opponents, including host Thailand. In the end, Malaysia secured third place by defeating Vietnam.

With these accomplishments, Malaysian football confidently regards 2025 as a successful year, notably with all positive results linked to matches against Vietnam.