Highlights U23 Malaysia 0-2 U23 Philippines:

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Underrated and with a majority of the team being students, U23 Philippines created a big shock in the opening match of Group A of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 tournament when they defeated U23 Malaysia with a score of 2-0.

Right from the start of the match, U23 Malaysia was the more proactive team. They controlled the ball well, constantly applied pressure and created many dangerous attacks. However, the yellow-shirted strikers were too unlucky. Haqimi Azim hit the crossbar in the 19th minute, while Fergus Tierney, despite appearing frequently in the penalty area, could not take advantage of the opportunity.

U23 Malaysia vs U23 Philippines.jpg
U23 Malaysia lost painfully to Philippines in the opening match - Photo: Asean Football
U23 Indonesia won 8-0 in the opening match of the Southeast Asian tournament U23 Indonesia won 8-0 in the opening match of the Southeast Asian tournament

On the contrary, U23 Philippines showed surprising efficiency. In the 9th minute, from Mariona's skillful dribbling, Otu Bisong was there at the right time to finish close to the goal to open the score. In the 40th minute, Bisong completed his double after Dalapo's precise cross, increasing the gap to 2-0 for the white team.

In the second half, the Philippines took the initiative to retreat deep to defend. Although Malaysia tried to press, the resilient defense and goalkeeper Nico denied all opportunities from the opponent. The score of 2-0 was maintained until the end of the match.

This victory is a worthy reward for the reasonable defensive counter-attacking style that the Philippines coach has built. Meanwhile, U23 Malaysia will need to quickly improve their finishing ability if they do not want to stop early.

Line-up:

Malaysia U23 : Haziq Aiman, Aiman Hakimi, Aiman Yusuf, Arif Ilham, Aiman Danish, Danish Hakimi, Danish Syamer, Ziad El Basheer, Alif Ahmad, Fergus Tierney, Haqimi Azim

Philippines U23 : Nicholas Guimaraes, Noah Leddel, Gavin Muens, Adgar Aban, Jethro Flores, Harry Nunez, Kamil Jaser Amirul, Cian Galsim, Jax Peña, Andres Rafael, Otu Abang Banatao

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ket-qua-u23-malaysia-vs-u23-philippines-vong-bang-u23-dong-nam-a-2025-2422068.html