PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s football team were lucky to qualify for the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup despite losing to Thailand but one thing is certain – they need a tactical overhaul to improve further.
The team coached by E. Elavarasan went down 0-1 to Thailand in a poorly executed game in their final Group H match at the Chonburi Stadium on Tuesday and had thought all hopes were gone to qualify for the Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar next year.
But by a stroke of luck, the Harimau Muda boys managed to pip Iran on disciplinary points to rank as the best four second-placed team after both teams were tied with three points from two matches, goal difference and goal scored.
Malaysia had ended their campaign with a second place finish in the group with six points following a 2-0 win over Bangladesh and a 4-0 victory over Philippines last week.
This is the third time Malaysia have qualified for the Under-23 Asian Cup since 2018 in China and 2022 in Uzbekistan.
The team’s best outing in the tournament was reaching the quarter-final in 2018 while they failed to get past the group stage in the 2022 edition.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had targeted the team to advance to the competition proper next year in Doha to have a shot at qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The top three teams from the Under-23 Asian Cup, which will be held from April 15-May 3, will qualify for Paris.
The road to Olympics is on but team manager Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar admitted that the national side needed to improve on their tactical game if they harboured hopes of beating stronger opponents in the future.
“We performed well by recording two wins but lost to the hosts,” said Shahril.
“We are satisfied with the performance of the players who showed good fighting spirit, especially against Thailand last night (Tuesday).
“Several players only joined the team at the last minute but it’s not an excuse for not showing their ability to help the team create positive results.
“There are some weaknesses that need to be improved because in the Asian Cup later, we will face much stronger teams, so we need to prepare thoroughly,” he added.
THE QUALIFIED TEAM
Hosts: Qatar
Group winners: Jordan (A), South Korea (B), Vietnam (C), Japan (D), Uzbekistan (E), Iraq (F), United Arab Emirates (G), Thailand (H), Australia (I), Arab Saudi (J), Indonesia (K)
Best runners-up: Kuwait, Tajikistan, China, Malaysia
