Revelation about the impending penalty for the Malaysian national team from AFC brings good news for the Vietnamese team in the Asian tournament.

The Malaysian national team faces the possibility of being disqualified from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers by AFC (Asian Football Confederation) following CAS's ruling on 7 naturalized players.

The final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) concerning 7 players of the Malaysian national team and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has been issued. Accordingly, CAS decided to partially reduce the penalties for the 7 players but upheld the fine of approximately 1.8 million ringgit that FAM must pay due to involvement in document forgery.

Following this decision, the focus shifts to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which will determine the fate of FAM and the Malaysian national team, while the Malaysian Football League (MFL) will consider measures related to the 4 naturalized players currently playing for domestic clubs.

CAS only partially adjusted the initial penalties, meaning the continental governing body AFC and the domestic body (MFL) retain the right to impose additional disciplinary measures if necessary. The 7 involved players—Facundo Garces, Gabriel Arrocha, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—must still serve a 12-month suspension.

However, compared to FIFA's previous ban, which barred them from all football activities, the new decision allows the players to continue training and playing for their clubs but prohibits them from participating in any official matches.

Specifically, they are banned from playing in national championships, domestic cups, FIFA-listed friendly matches, as well as official tournaments such as qualifiers or finals. This means the players can still maintain training activities with their teams but cannot appear in any official matches for their clubs or the national team during the suspension period.

According to the outlet Stadiumastro, AFC may impose several penalties on the Malaysian national team. One mentioned possibility is annulling the official match results of the Malaysian team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, including two victories against the Nepal national team and the Vietnam national team under coach Peter Cklamovski. If these results are voided, the Nepal and Vietnam national teams would be awarded 3-0 wins.

Additionally, AFC could also deduct points in the qualifying campaign, eliminate the Malaysian team from this campaign, or even ban them from participating in the qualifiers for the Asian Cup after 2027. If the Malaysian team is disqualified from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Vietnam national team would secure a spot in the tournament's final round and might not need to play the final qualifying match.

The Asian football governing body could also impose additional fines on FAM or suspend officials involved in the document processing from football management activities.

Besides AFC, the MFL, as the organizer of Malaysia's domestic competitions, may also implement its own measures. Mentioned possibilities include enforcing the playing ban on the illegally naturalized players, deducting points from their respective clubs, or even annulling match results, while investigating player registration procedures, including foreign player quotas and naturalized players.