Former Malaysian coach: 'Vietnam has many opportunities to attend the 2026 World Cup'
"Based on the current performance in Southeast Asia, I see that Vietnam has a better chance to attend the 2026 World Cup," Mr. Sathianathan told Malaysia's Sinar Harian newspaper this morning on December 25.
The 2026 World Cup held in three North and Central American countries is the first time the number of participating teams has increased from 32 to 48. The number of Asian seats has increased from 4.5 to 8.5, thereby, opening up more opportunities for teams that have difficulty competing with big players like Japan, Korea, Australia, Iran or Saudi Arabia.
In the last two periods, Thailand and Vietnam are the Southeast Asian countries in the final qualifying round, respectively. But the results show a gap in qualifications with the top teams. Thailand ranked at the bottom of the table with only two points, without winning a match in the 2018 qualifying round. Vietnam won one, drew one, but still ranked last. However, both are still the leading football players in the region with quality and stable players.
In the past 5 years, Vietnam won the 2018 AFF Cup, won two SEA Games gold medals, was the runner-up of the 2018 Asian U23 Championship. Meanwhile, Thailand won the AFF Cup 2020, entered the quarterfinals of the U23 Asia 2020 and always had 3-4 good players in the Japanese national championship – J-League 1. The goal of the two teams is to reach the final qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup, something that Malaysia has never done.
Sathianathan worked as a coach of the national team and the Malaysia U23 team in the period 2006-2009, but failed. His successor, Rajagobal, helped Malaysia to win the 2009 SEA Games gold medal and the 2010 AFF Cup, respectively. After that, Mr. Sathianathan led many domestic clubs such as Kelantan, Felda United, Selangor and now Sarawak United.
Sathianathan said that if Malaysia wants to participate in the World Cup, Malaysia needs a careful master plan with many participants, not just this country's Football Association (FAM). "Stakeholders such as the club, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Education and Parents also play an important role," he said.
According to the coach born in 1958, Malaysia needs to start from school football to create a culture like Japan and Korea. "Football is not a seasonal game like Term 1, soccer, and Term 2 athletics. Football needs to be played every day," explained Sathianathan.
In addition, the former Malaysian coach also pointed out that domestic players should go to Europe to play, but must have both physical and mental endurance. Sathianathan recounted the story of taking young Malaysian players to France or Morocco to train, where the players had a very disciplined diet and lifestyle. "In Malaysia, it's different, convenience stores are open 24 hours a day. If we want to be successful, we need discipline including nutrition," he added.
