There are 9 mixed-race players in the starting lineup of the Malaysian men's football team, and the "Malayan Tigers" exist in name only?

Today's Malaysian national football team only relies on "foreign legions" to work hard, and the "Malayan Tigers" exist in name only? After the Malaysian national football team defeated Southeast Asian rival Vietnam 4-0 in the second round of Group F in the third stage of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifying tournament on the 10th, the whole country rejoiced, and fans praised the Malayan tiger for roaring back from his home home.

The five Malaysian footballers Figueiredo (from right), Cools, Irazabaar, Hector and Endrick took to the field in the match against Vietnam

However, there are also different voices in the fan base, questioning that almost all of the starting lineup of the Malaysian national football team are high-headed European and American faces.

For example, among the five mixed-race players with Malaysian ancestry recently naturalized by the Malaysian Football Association, Machuca, Holgado and Garcés are Malaysian+Argentine, Irazabal is Malaysian+Spanish, and Figueiredo is Malaysian+Brazilian.

Noazlan disagrees with the naturalisation of so many related players by the Malaysian national team, saying: "When the goal is only to win, national identity is sacrificed. “

Noazlan questioned that there were only two homegrown players in the starting line-up. Therefore, a post by Tan Sri No Azlan Jazari, a professor of economics at the National University, on his personal social media today, has aroused heated discussions among Malaysian fans. I saw Noazlan upload a photo of the starting lineup of the national football team on Facebook, but as many as 9 of the 11 people were labeled as "mixed-race". Noazlan wrote in a post: "The Malayan tiger exists in name only. In fact, there are only two players left who are 'Malayan Pure Blood'. ”

It is called winning at the expense of national identity. "When the goal is only victory, national identity is sacrificed. Foreign Investment, Foreign Workers...... Now even the players are foreigners! Welcome to Malaysia. When? Personally, I'm sad if that's how we win. What's your opinion? Sure enough, Noazran's post immediately sparked a heated discussion among fans.

Noazlan posted a photo of the starting lineup on Facebook, but as many as nine of the 11 players were labeled as "mixed-race".

Some fans said that such a win is not something to be proud of. Some fans agreed with Noazlan and wrote: "Agreed. Our country should choose its own path and do not need to follow someone else's path (active naturalization) in order to succeed. One fan wrote: "Yes, I'm not in the mood to celebrate even if I win." Such a win is not something to be proud of. ”

However, there are also fans who support the Malaysian national football team's policy of naturalizing related players. There are also fans who call this the modern world of football. One of them said: "The policy of homegrown players has been in place for a long time, but it has been proven that the quality of pure-bloods is not yet at the level of Asia. While waiting for the growth of local players, it is advisable to naturalize players first, so that the national football team can remain competitive. ”

Another fan wrote: "This is the world of modern football, and it's not just Malaysia that is naturalizing players, other teams are doing the same. Now it's up to our homegrown players to follow the trend and work hard. ”

The Indonesian team is nicknamed the "Dutch second team" by fans because of the number of naturalized Dutch players

If you look at the overall situation in countries around the world, the use of naturalized players is becoming more and more common. For example, at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, 25 of the 32 teams naturalized foreign-born players. The national team, which is composed of purely local players, has become rare.
Some national teams, such as France and Germany, although there are not many foreign-born players in the team, the "pure local players" of these countries can be traced back to their bloodlines, and many of them are also second-generation immigrants.

If we go back to the Asian region where the Malaysian team is located, there are also many teams such as Qatar, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc., which have a large number of naturalized players. Indonesia is nicknamed the "Dutch second team" by fans, and the team with the most naturalized players is the Philippines, who have had 21 naturalized players in the Asian Cup.

Indonesia has also naturalized many Dutch players because of its relationship with the Netherlands, and is nicknamed the "Dutch second team" by fans, and Indonesia has also strengthened the team with naturalized power, and has successfully entered the fourth stage of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, and still has hope to enter the World Cup.

The fact now in front of us is that if Malaysia does not naturalize these related players, I am afraid that it will not be able to gain a foothold in Southeast Asia, and the goal of rushing to Asia is even more delusional......