Expert Richard Scully believes that the instability of Vietnamese football will give Malaysia a competitive advantage in the 2024 AFC U23 Championship finals.
Vietnam is the Southeast Asian team with the best results at the AFC U23 Championship after four consecutive appearances, finishing runners-up in 2018 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2022. However, changes under coach Philippe Troussier forced the team to change head coach just 20 days before the 2024 AFC U23 Championship.
"Vietnam are experienced but have been in trouble recently," expert Richard Scully told the New Straits Times (NST). "I see it as an opportunity and Malaysia has the quality to compete with them at the 2024 AFC U23 Championship."
Malaysia (yellow shirt) lost to Vietnam (red shirt) 0-2 in the final round of the 2022 AFC U23 Championship group stage. Photo: Hieu Luong
The Vice President of the Malaysian National Coaches Association assessed that the match against Vietnam could be decisive for coach Juan Garrido's team in Group D. Meanwhile, the team is capable of defeating Kuwait, while still being able to cause difficulties for the strongest team in the group, Uzbekistan.
Former Malaysia U23 coach Ong Kim Swee shares the same view as Richard Scully. "This group is difficult but I believe Malaysia can go far," he told NST. "Vietnam are not in good form, and Kuwait's level is not too far apart."
Recently, Malaysian football has continuously lost to Vietnam at the U23 level, most recently a 1-2 loss in the group stage of SEA Games 32. Previously, Malaysia lost to Vietnam 1-4 in the semi-finals of U23 Southeast Asia 2023, 0-2 in the group stage of U23 Asia 2022, 0-1 in the semi-finals of SEA Games 31.
Coach Ong Kim Swee has helped Malaysia U23 achieve their best result, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2018 U23 Asian Cup, before that, winning a gold medal at the 2011 SEA Games and a silver medal at the 2017 SEA Games. With that experience, he believes there is little difference in skill level between teams at this level. "Physical strength is the key factor," said the 54-year-old coach.
U23 Malaysia is the earliest group D team to arrive in Qatar, from April 1, to prepare for the 2024 U23 Asia. Photo: FAM
Ong Kim Swee said Malaysia was well prepared when they arrived in Qatar for training early on April 1 to adapt to the climate. In addition, the team played two friendly matches, losing 1-2 to China and 0-1 to Qatar. "Don't focus on the results of the friendly matches," he said. "The goal in these matches is to test and improve on the weak points."
What makes Ong Kim Swee more confident in the U23 team is that the team has eight players who participated in the 2022 AFC U23 Championship, including captain Mukhairi Mahadi, Luqman Hakim, Ubaidullah Shamsul, Syahir Bashah, Safwan Mazlan, Harith Haiqal, Ahmad Khalili and Aiman Afif. The experience and maturity of many players will help the young team.
Malaysia will face Uzbekistan on April 17, Vietnam (April 20) and Kuwait (April 23). Before participating in the tournament, the Malaysian Football Federation even hoped that the team could reach the semi-finals to compete for a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, an achievement that no Southeast Asian team has achieved in the past.
List of Malaysia U23 football team
Goalkeepers (3): Firdaus Irman (Perak), Azim Al-Amin (Kuala Lumpur City), Sikh Izhan (Negeri Sembilan)
Defenders (6): Harith Haiqal, Zikri Khalili (Selangor), Safwan Mazlan, Ubaidullah Shamsul (Terengganu), Aiman Yusni (Perak), Umar Hakeem (Johor Darul Ta'zim II)
Midfielders (7): Syahir Bashah, Mukhairi Ajmal, Nooa Laine, Aliff Izwan, Muhammad Khalil (Selangor), Saiful Jamaluddin (Sri Pahang), Aiman Afif (Kedah Darul Aman)
Forwards (7): Thirumurugan Saravanan (Terengganu), Luqman Hakim (Yokohama SCC), Alif Zikri (Perak), Fergus Tierney, Daryl Sham, Najmudin Akmal (Johor Darul Ta'zim), Haqimi Azim (Kuala Lumpur City).
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