PETALING JAYA: Pint-sized but full of energy, national winger Faisal Halim made history by being the first goalscorer for Malaysia in the Asian Cup 2023.
But he said the pain of the earlier defeats in Group E still stings.
ALSO READ: Spurs star Son lauds Harimau Malaya's tenacious ingenuity
Malaysia ended their Asian Cup campaign by holding tournament favourites South Korea 3-3 in the final Group E game at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Doha on Thursday (Jan 25).
The 26-year-old, who stands at 1.58m, scored in the 51st minute and also contributed to the second goal when his cross led to the foul on winger Arif Aiman Hanapi in the penalty box.
Faisal, who plays for Selangor, said it was the least the team could do for the nation but admitted that the first two defeats against Jordan (0-4) and Bahrain (0-1) were hard to erase.
ALSO READ: Harimau Malaya finally roar by holding world class S. Korea
"The least we could do was create history for our people and also for the team with this draw against South Korea," said the nippy player, who hails from Mengkuang Titi, Penang.
"Even though we knew we didn't have a chance to get to the next stage, (with) the result against the Koreans, the boys were happy but we could not accept the defeats against Jordan and Bahrain.
"We look forward to bouncing back in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and we will learn a great deal from this Asian Cup," he added.
After the Asian Cup, Malaysia’s next international assignment would be the World Cup 2026 second-round qualifiers where they take on Oman in Muscat on March 21 and at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on March 26.
