KUALA LUMPUR: National Under-16 football team manager Christopher Raj is ready to step down if Malaysia fail to qualify for the final of the 2025 Asia Cup Under-17 Qualifier in Laos from Oct 19-26.
Christopher assured that the young squad will bounce back from the disappointment of failing to get past the group stages at the Asean Under-16 tournament in Surakarta, Indonesia.
“Last year, the national U-17 squad managed to qualify for the Asia Cup Under-17 tournament. Therefore it will not be an impossible task to achieve a similar success.
“However, if the team fail, I will step down and allow someone else to take over the responsibility of guiding the national squad to the highest level and continue the mission to the World Cup,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Admitting that the failure in Indonesia was a bitter pill to swallow, Christopher added that he would take full responsibility for the results and achievements of coach Javier Jorda Ribera’s boys.
Yesterday, Malaysia lost 1-3 to Thailand in their final Group C action, a result that saw Malaysia fail to advance to the next stage (semi-final) after finishing third in the group with three points.
Champions of the three respective groups and the best positioned second placed team move into the semi-finals, namely Group C winners Australia who managed seven points, the same as Thailand but with better goal average while Timor Leste finished last in the group.
Malaysia started the Asean Cup campaign in style by whipping Timor Leste 5-0 on June 23, but lost 0-2 to Australia on Wednesday, before yesterday’s outcome.
The last time Malaysia qualified for the semi-finals was during the 2019 edition when they emerged as the group winners after edgingThailand 2-1.
In the Asia Cup Under-17 qualifier, Malaysia are drawn in Group H with Laos, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
Ten group winners and five best placed runner-up teams will advance to the final scheduled from April 3-20 in Saudi Arabia. — Bernama
