– Photo courtesy of FAM.
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Under-16 football team have qualified for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup 2023 after topping Group B with 10 points.
The side coached by Osmera Omaro were unbeaten throughout the qualifying campaign and in their last game, they shocked home side Indonesia 5-1 at the Pakansari Stadium in Bogor on Sunday (Oct 9).
Arami Wafiy was scored two goals in the 20th and 38th minutes, while Zainurhakimi Zain (17th), Anjasmirza (23rd) and Afiq Danish (26th) scored the other goals.
Arkhan Kaka Putra scored Indonesia’s lone goal in the 93rd minute.
Malaysia started their campaign by beating Palestine 4-0 on Oct 1 but were held to a 1-1 draw by Guam on Oct 5.
The team bounced back by beating the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on Oct 7.
This will be Malaysia’s sixth appearance (2004, 2008, 2014, 2016 and 2018) in the Under-17 Asian Cup. Their best finish was in 2014 when they qualified for the quarter-finals.
The host of the tournament will be decided soon.
