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According to the draw held on Sunday, Malaysia were placed in Group B alongside Vietnam and Laos. The three nations were also grouped together in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. In that tournament, Malaysia’s 4–0 victory over Vietnam in June now faces being overturned after seven naturalized players in the game were accused of using falsified documents, a scandal that led to heavy fines for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and a year-long suspension for the players involved.

New Straits Times expressed hope that such controversy would not recur.

“The Young Tigers’ match against Vietnam won’t be as controversial as the one which saw Harimau Malaya beat Vietnam 4-0 in June, and led to allegations that Malaysia fielded naturalized foreign-born players with falsified documents,” the newspaper wrote.

The U23 team of Malaysia have been mostly unaffected by the naturalization policy. The current squad features just one foreign-born player, Scotland’s Fergus Tierney, who has no Malaysian ancestry but has lived in Malaysia for several years.

Since men’s football at the SEA Games adopted the U23 format in 2001, Vietnam have beaten Malaysia six times and lost three. Their most recent defeat came in 2013, while Vietnam have dominated all subsequent encounters in regional and continental youth tournaments.

“Vietnam will be a major challenge for coach Nafuzi Zain’s squad as they fight for a spot in the semifinals,” Malaysian outlet Daily Metro commented, adding that Laos can also be a surprise.

Under South Korean coach Ha Hyeok-jun, Laos have become tougher to beat, with several players already capped for the national team.

CNN Indonesia also predicted an intense game between Vietnam and Malaysia, but warned that “underestimating Laos would be a mistake.”

Coach Zain acknowledged the difficulty of the group but said it is a valuable challenge for his team.

Malaysia U23 have shown flashes of potential but remain inconsistent, with mixed results in recent regional competitions, including a 0-2 loss to the Philippines and a 7-1 win over Brunei in July’s ASEAN U23 Championship, followed by a 0-0 draw against Indonesia.

In September’s U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, they lost 0-1 to Lebanon, beat Mongolia 7-0 and fell 1-2 to Thailand.

Malaysia have won six gold medals in men’s football at the SEA Games, with the last one in 2011. Their most recent final appearance was in 2017 on home soil, where they lost to Thailand.

SEA Games 33, which will run from Dec. 9 to 20, marks the first time the men’s football competition has been split into three groups: two groups of three and one group of four. Teams will play in a round-robin format, with three group winners and the best second-placed team advancing to the semifinals.

Hosts Thailand, defending champions Indonesia and Vietnam are regarded as the leading contenders for the gold medal.