KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Malaysia concluded a gruelling AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying campaign with a 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in their final Group F match at Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh last night.

The hosts opened the scoring in the sixth minute through a powerful header by captain Do Duy Manh, who converted a corner taken by Truong Tien Anh.

The Harimau Malaya squad under Peter Cklamovski had a chance to equalise in the 10th minute, but Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim’s chip attempt, following a setup by Paulo Josue, went off target.

Vietnam nearly doubled their lead in the 24th minute when a long-range strike by Nguyen Hoang Duc rattled the crossbar, with national goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi already beaten.

However, Ahmad Syihan came to the rescue with a crucial touch to deny Do Hoang Hen’s effort inside the penalty box in the 32nd minute, as the score remained 0-1 at halftime.

Vietnam got their second goal through a header by naturalised striker Nguyen Xuan Son, who met a cross from Do Hoang Hen in the 51st minute.

Xuan Son struck again when he was left unmarked in the penalty area to head home a cross from Tien Anh in the 59th minute, putting Kim Sang Sik’s men comfortably ahead at 3-0.

Malaysia pulled one back via a penalty converted by substitute Endrick Dos Santos in the 77th minute, but were still forced to accept defeat, extending their winless run against Vietnam away from home since 2014.

After six matches, Vietnam, who have qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Finals, collected 18 points, followed by Malaysia in second place (nine points), Laos in third (six points) and Nepal at the bottom with three points.

Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup Finals on merit for a second consecutive time were dashed after being handed a points deduction by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Recently, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee found that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had breached Article 56 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code for fielding ineligible players in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam last year. — Bernama