Malaysia’s Under-16 team have taken the first steps towards fulfilling their ambition of qualifying for the 2019 U17 World Cup in Peru by beating Tajikistan 6-2 on home soil. Four goals from Luqman Hakim and a penalty from Najmudin Akmal meant that the side were five goals to the good shortly after the hour mark, and a late flurry by the Central Asian side did very little to affect the final result. This win will give the hosts confidence to see out what is a very tough group, as Thailand and Japan lie in wait for Malaysia in the remaining group stage games.
The War Elephants and Samurai Blues also faced off in this opening round of games. Despite opening the scoring within the first minute through Chonburi youngster Waragon Thongbai, Thailand slumped to a 5-2 defeat. Goals from Kuraba Kondo, Riku Handa, and Shoji Toyama, as well as a brace from Ryotaro Araki, rounded off an impressive display by the Japanese. Buriram United starlet Suphanat Mueanta, who became the Thai League’s youngest ever scorer earlier this year, also found the net in this game.
Vietnam and Indonesia are the other two South-East Asian sides represented in the tournament, and they are set to face Iran and India respectively later today.