U23 Malaysia has great determination in the U23 Asian tournament. Coach Juan Torres Garrido’s team was in Qatar a week ago and was very active in playing friendly matches. However, the “Tigers” did not achieve positive results.
In the friendly match on the day April 7 U23 Malaysia suffered a defeat with a score of 1-2 against U23 China. Yesterday they faced host U23 Qatar. Compared to the match against U23 China, U23 Malaysia chose a different way to play.
They played slowly and proactively built up their defense. That caused U23 Qatar to have difficulty in the first half. U23 Malaysia even created a few dangerous counter-attack situations against the West Asian team.
But the problem is that U23 Malaysia Personal errors have not been overcome yet. In the 45th minute, a defensive mistake caused U23 Malaysia to receive a penalty kick. The home team Qatar did not miss this opportunity to score the opening goal.
In the second half, U23 Malaysia actively attacked to find the equalizer. Coach Juan Torres Garrido sent two notable attackers of U23 Malaysia, Fergus Tierney and Luqman Hakim, onto the field.
However, the Southeast Asian team still had problems organizing the attack and could not penetrate Qatar’s U23 defense. In the end, U23 Qatar won with a score of 1-0 against U23 Malaysia.
Thus, U23 Malaysia suffered defeat in both friendly matches before the U23 Asian tournament. Notably, all three goals lost by the “Tigers” were from the penalty spot. It shows the immaturity of this team’s defense. They have not resisted well against stronger opponents.
In the U23 Asia tournament, U23 Malaysia is in the same group as U23 Vietnam, U23 Kuwait and U23 Uzbekistan. They will play in the match against U23 Uzbekistan on April 17. On April 20, U23 Malaysia will face U23 Vietnam. They will play the final group stage match against U23 Kuwait on April 23.
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