Vietnam put Malaysia out of running for 2022 FIFA World Cup spot

Malaysia officially failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after being handed a 2-1 loss by Vietnam in the FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup qualifying second round on Friday.

Needing a win against Park Hang-seo's men to stand a chance of finishing in the Group G top two, which offered a chance to progress to the qualifying third round, the Harimau Malaya fell behind to Nguyen Tien Linh's header in the first half.

72'Jaringan dari De Paula!!!!!!Kedudukan Semasa Vietnam 1 - 1 Malaysia pic.twitter.com/NIjWPJSrL0
— ASTRO ARENA (@ASTROARENA) June 11, 2021

Naturalised forward Guilherme de Paula netted his first international goal for Malaysia from the penalty spot to restore parity in the 72nd minute, but it only lasted 10 minutes as Vietnam won a penalty, which was converted by Que Ngoc Hai.

The result put Malaysia in the fourth spot in Group G, eight and six points behind Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates respectively.

Kedudukan Pusingan 2 Kelayakan Piala Dunia 2022/Piala Asia 2023Kumpulan G(Selepas Hari Perlawanan 9)* Seterusnya Hari Perlawanan 10 pada Selasa, 15 Jun 2021:THAILAND ?? lwn ?? MALAYSIAUAE ?? lwn ?? VIETNAM#FAM #HarimauMalaya #AsianQualifiers pic.twitter.com/KumRGIX6EW
— FA Malaysia (@FAM_Malaysia) June 11, 2021

Despite the defeat, there is still much to play for in the final group match as Malaysia face Thailand next week.

Depending on the result of the game, it would determine whether Tan Cheng Hoe's side directly go to the Asian Cup qualifying third round or have to go through the qualifying play-off round.