World Cup Qualifying Malaysia

Five Things Malaysia Learned From Their 1-0 Loss to Vietnam

By: , October 12, 2019 9:55 pm

Malaysia have suffered their second loss in three games of World Cup Qualifying, with Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Hai making the difference in a hard-fought game between the two 2018 AFF Cup finalists. This result leaves Malaysia sitting in fourth place, needing to turn things around. Football Tribe Malaysia’s Amin Anas gives us his thoughts on this result.

Absence of Nor Azam Azih

The absence of Pahang’s playmaker Nor Azam Azih due to injury had a huge impact on Malaysia. They failed to produce any convincing attack and could only provide two chances. The lack of creativity in the centre would be the main reason why Malaysia failed to repeat their great run like before.

Vietnam Attack Matthew Davies’ Side

Previously, Malaysia's opponents never attacked down the right side. Both UAE and Indonesia used their attacking players to go against Corbin Ong. Surprisingly, Vietnam’s tactical is quite strange as they knew the weakness of Davies. As a result, they broke through from the right side and scored their only goal from Nguyen Quang Hai.

Another blunder by Shahrul Saad

Perak Center back Saad continued to repeat the same mistakes he made during the two previous matches. He was even booked for attempting to score using his hand last night. It is undeniable that he has the quality to be in the national squad. However, if he keeps making these kinds of mistakes, it could endanger Malaysia's hope of qualifying for the next round. 

The Relevancy of Veteran Players 

Malaysia should start to sort their current squad and open the opportunity for youngsters to be in the national team. Malaysia has a number of young talents. If Malaysian coach, Tan Cheng Hoe keeps on using the same squad with the same tactics, it could lead to more disappointment in the near future.

Quality of Malaysian Attacking Players

Malaysia needs to admit that they do not have many options when it comes to attacking players. Malaysia can't just rely on naturalized players - they need to also produce local talents. Malaysian youngster, Luqman Hakim should be given a chance to play with the national squad for early exposure, which could benefit his development.