Malaysia remains focused despite CAS, concentrating on preparations for the rematch against the Vietnamese national team.

Football expert Zulakbal Abdul Karim emphasized that the Malaysian national team players should not allow the "FIFA storm" to disrupt their readiness for the decisive Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on the road on March 31.

Despite the pressure, uncertainty, and surrounding noise regarding the Malaysian team, he stressed that the entire squad must focus fully on the important match at Thiên Trường Stadium (Nam Định) on March 31.

Currently, Malaysia leads Group F but faces the risk of being deducted points by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) if the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) fails in its appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is expected to issue a ruling this week.

Zulakbal, who holds an AFC professional coaching license, asserted that the players must eliminate off-field distractions.

FIFA imposed a one-year playing ban on seven naturalized players for falsifying documents related to eligibility requirements for the national team.

The world football governing body also annulled the results of three international matches, awarding Malaysia 3-0 losses in the games: a 1-1 draw with Cape Verde on May 29, a 2-1 win over Singapore on September 4, and a 1-0 win over Palestine on September 8.

Both FAM and the seven players—Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—have appealed to CAS to contest FIFA's penalty.

"Miracles always happen in sports; we have seen many underdog stories, so anything is possible for the national team.

There is much uncertainty, but the players should not dwell on CAS's decision. We need them fully focused on the match. The public is angry about the document tampering issue, and a win against Vietnam could ease that anger."

He noted that although Vietnam is a strong team in the region, they are not invincible.

"The Vietnamese national team is not like South Korea or Japan. It will be tough to play against Vietnam, but we can still pull off an upset."

Malaysia could also receive a timely boost with the potential addition of forward Bergson da Silva and defender Giancarlo Gallifuoco.

"I believe having Bergson and Gallifuoco in the squad will increase our chances of defeating the Vietnamese national team.

We know their quality in the M-League. If they meet FIFA's eligibility rules and the country's citizenship laws, I see no issue with them playing for the Malaysian national team," Zulakbal said.