Malaysia receives very sad news ahead of the rematch against Vietnam's national team

In the upcoming rematch with Vietnam's national team on March 31, Malaysia will be without the talented forward Arif Aiman.

It has been reported that Arif Aiman suffered a hamstring injury during the match between Malaysia's national team and Nepal's national team in November 2025. He underwent surgery overseen by top sports doctor Lempainen Lasse in Spain. However, he is still in recovery and has not played any matches since then.

Speaking to the media, head coach Peter Cklamovski confirmed this: “I don’t think Arif will be ready. I hope for a miracle, but I doubt it. At this point, I lean towards him not being available," he stated.

Arif Aiman’s absence will be a significant loss for Malaysia’s national team, especially since the match against Vietnam will be decisive for securing a spot in the 2026 Asian Cup finals. Arif Aiman is one of the few domestic stars in Malaysian footballin recent years. Playing for Johor Darul Ta'zim club, the 24-year-old forward has scored 61 goals and provided 66 assists across all competitions. At the national team level, he has earned 40 caps and scored 8 goals.

Notably, according to the latest update on Sofascore's social media platforms, this 24-year-old player has completed 224 successful dribbles in 35 domestic league matches, ranking him fourth worldwide for successful dribbles. This achievement surpasses Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku, who has 212 successful dribbles but took 52 matches, 17 more than Arif Aiman.

Currently, the match between Vietnam and Malaysia remains the focus of attention as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has yet to rule on the case involving seven illegally naturalized "Malayan Tigers" players.