On Reddit, two major Malaysian football communities, r/Malaysia and r/BolehLand, with a combined following of around 1.5 million, saw heated discussions on the subject. Dozens of threads were created questioning whether Malaysia’s identity in football was being diluted.

During the June 10 match at Bukit Jalil Stadium, a post on r/BolehLand gained traction as Malaysia were leading Vietnam 3-0, writing: “We haven’t beaten Vietnam since 2014, and now…”

The most upvoted comment responded to the post: “Oh right. The three key players who scored for Malaysia were Johan Figueiredo, Ramasami Holgado, and Lim Corbin-Ong.”

The sarcastic comment used common Malaysian names to poke fun at the fact that the goals were actually scored by Joao Figueiredo of Brazil, Rodrigo Holgado (Argentina) and La’Vere Corbin-Ong (England).

Along with Dion Cools, they netted four goals in what became Malaysia’s most emphatic win over Vietnam in history.

All four players, while having Malaysian heritage or meeting eligibility requirements, were not raised in the country. Figueiredo and Holgado, in particular, had never lived in Malaysia prior to their recent call-ups. They were part of a new wave of players naturalized in 2024, including Jon Irazabal, Facundo Garces, Nooa Laine, Hector Hevel and Imanol Machuca, many of whom played in the Vietnam match.

A user wrote: “That was basically a Latino all-star team playing against Vietnam,” with hundreds agreeing.

Another user commented: “It’s really sketchy. Feels like cheating, honestly.”

Others showed concerns about the fading identity of the national team.

“Is this still the Malaysian team?” an account wrote. “Do local players even have a future?”

Another fan added: “I’m happy we won, but 9 out of 11 starters being naturalized players is too much. Even the bench was packed with them. This is why I stopped watching Johor Darul Ta’zim matches regularly.”

Johor, Malaysia’s top football club, have long relied on foreign-born talent. Critics argue this approach is now reflected at the national team level.

On r/BolehLand, the tone was largely critical or sarcastic, with fans expressing concern about the direction of Malaysian football.

A separate thread on r/Malaysia shared the same perspective. An account commented: “I have no issue with guys like Cools or Dominic Tan. They’ve got clear ties to Malaysia. But some of these new players seem connected only by the money FAM paid them.”

Another fan chimed in: “Even Mohamadiu Sumareh makes sense. He has no Malaysian blood, but has been living here since age 12. National teams are supposed to showcase a country’s player development system. Instead, we’re bringing in players pushing 30 who never knew anything about Malaysia until now.”

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) reportedly plans to naturalize even more players, potentially fielding a squad without any locally raised players, similar to Indonesia’s recent policy.

This trend has boosted the squad value of Malaysia and Indonesia, putting them ahead of regional rivals like Vietnam and Thailand, who have naturalized some players with foreign blood but still rely primarily on domestic talent.