Harimau Malaya fell 3-1 to Vietnam in their final AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier, finishing second in Group F but missing out on automatic qualification.
NAM DINH: Malaysia concluded their AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Vietnam at Thien Truong Stadium.
The hosts opened the scoring in the sixth minute through captain Do Duy Manh’s powerful header from a Truong Tien Anh corner.
Vietnam doubled their lead in the 51st minute when naturalised striker Nguyen Xuan Son headed home a cross from Do Hoang Hen.
Xuan Son added his second eight minutes later, nodding in another Tien Anh cross to put Vietnam 3-0 ahead.
Malaysia’s sole reply came from a 77th-minute penalty converted by substitute Endrick Dos Santos.
The result extends Malaysia’s winless run against Vietnam on their opponent’s home soil since 2014.
Vietnam topped Group F with a perfect 18 points from six matches to qualify for the 2027 finals.
Malaysia finished second with nine points, ahead of Laos on six and Nepal with three.
Harimau Malaya’s hopes of qualifying on merit were ended by an AFC points deduction.
The Asian Football Confederation penalised the Football Association of Malaysia for fielding ineligible players in qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam last year.
