Only two substitutions were used in Vietnam when Malaysia were one goal behind and needed to chase the game. There were no additional strikers being thrown onto the pitch, quite simply because there were none available on the bench. Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Syafiq Ahmad both started in the 1-0 defeat with the former taken off midway through the second half.
One of the options that could have been used was Perak's Shahrel, who starred in the Preliminary Round One of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, albeit against lesser opponents in Timor Leste. Dropped prior to the journey to Hanoi because of an injury, Shahrel has once again found himself back in the training squad ahead of the next set of fixtures.