Sergio Aguero: Vietnam's Head Coach Surprised by Malaysia's Playing Style

Malaysia's Sergio Aguero disclosed that Vietnam's coach Kim Sang Sik was equally surprised by Malaysia's aggressive display during the opening half of the ASEAN Cup 2026 semifinal first leg.

Despite Malaysia's 0-2 defeat at KLFA Stadium, Aguero said he had a private conversation with the South Korean tactician after the match. According to the midfielder, Coach Kim Sang Sik's reaction showed that Malaysia had genuinely troubled the reigning regional champions.

"The Vietnam coach (Sang Sik) is a friend of mine. After the match, he said he was very surprised by the way we played in the first half," Aguero shared optimistically.

"That shows we have every reason to hold our heads high. We have nothing to regret because that was Malaysia's best performance in the entire tournament," Aguero stated.

Playing at home, Malaysia attacked relentlessly, but striker Nguyen Xuan Son helped Vietnam open the scoring in the 45+5th minute. In the 86th minute, a deflected ball off Faris Danish Asrul led to Malaysia conceding a second goal.

Aguero, who started all four of Malaysia's matches in the tournament and played as a combative box-to-box midfielder under interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe, praised the fighting spirit of his teammates.

Aguero also said Malaysia will fight hard in the second leg: "Conceding goals in the final minutes of both halves is disappointing, but that's football. We still have 90 minutes to fight in Hanoi, and the whole team believes we can stage a comeback."

Off the pitch, the club future of the Argentina-born midfielder has also been decided, as Indonesian club PSM Makassar officially announced last weekend that they had signed him on a two-year contract.

"This is a big challenge, and PSM Makassar is a big club for me. I hope to contribute, show my abilities, and help the team achieve success," Aguero said about moving to play in the Indonesian national league.

Malaysia will travel to Hanoi to prepare for the decisive second leg of the semifinal against Vietnam on Wednesday at My Dinh National Stadium.