Dismay display: Malaysia’s goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi (right) trying to stop a Jordan goal-attempt during a Group E Asian Cup match at the Al-Janoub Stadium. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s dream of taking their place among the big boys of Asia is in tatters after they were trounced by Jordan, with coach Kim Pan-gon being left apologetic and trying to keep the morale of his players up.
Deep inside, he was probably left wondering what had hit his team.
Malaysia had gone confidently into their Asian Cup Group E game at the Al-Janoub Stadium against Jordan – on paper, the weakest opponent in the group – but were thrashed 4-0.
It could have been worse, with the Jordanians seeing another goal called offside and the ball rocketing off the post in the dying minutes.
After 17 years of being out of the top continental stage, the nation had wanted to see some fight from the Harimau Malaya boys but they seemed overawed by the occasion.
“I would like to say sorry to the Malaysian public because they expected something. They wanted us to challenge Jordan but we could not do it,’ said Pan-gon who admitted that Jordan were stronger.
In earlier friendlies, Jordan had beaten Qatar 2-1 but lost to Japan 1-6 and were seen as a team that Malaysia could match.
However, it was a different story on the pitch with the ‘Chivalrous Ones’ running riot in the first half and hour or so.
Mahmoud Al-Mardi, a former Kedah player, scored with a brilliant curving shot in the 12th before tapping in a cross in the 32nd minute.
Mousa Al-Tamari, who plays for Montpellier in Ligue 1, fired home a penalty in the 18th minute before scoring a wonder goal in the 85th minute, lobbing his shot over keeper Syihan Hazmi. Al-Tamari also saw a fierce shot into goal in the first half disallowed for offside.
Malaysia were better in the second half after Pan-gon made some changes. The only player that shone was Stuart Wilkin, who was a workhorse in midfield and even had two chances to score.
“We prepared for this game bravely. We were looking for good attacks but Jordan were stronger than expected. We suffered in the first-half. We had defensive issues and gave them lots of space,” said Pan-gon.
“They have quality players. We already knew their attackers would come from behind and thrive on long balls because of their speed. We prepared something but it did not work.”
Pan-gon said the players were distraught with the first half performance.
“The players did not expect that result in the first half. They never performed like this in the last two years. We had another 45 minutes, we wanted to come back strongly to get momentum for the upcoming game against Bahrain.
“This is also a good lesson for us not just against Bahrain and South Korea, but also for the upcoming World Cup 2026 qualifiers.”
Malaysia will next take on Bahrain at the Jassim Hamad Stadium on Jan 20 and face South Korea on Jan 25.
Bahrain are also looking to bounce back after losing 1-3 to South Korea in the first group game.
“We want to prove something. Bahrain too wants to bounce back. They will strongly challenge us and we will try to ensure a good result,” said Pan-gon.
