Malaysian media expresses surprise at their team's chances against Vietnam U22.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - The Malaysian newspaper Majoriti is quite pessimistic about the chances of the Malaysian U22 team when they face the Vietnamese U22 team in the decisive match in Group B on December 11th.

At 4 PM on December 11th, the Vietnam U22 team will face the Malaysia U22 team in a decisive match in Group B of the men's football tournament at the Rajamangala Stadium. A draw in this match will automatically secure both teams' qualification to the next round.

Malaysian media are pessimistic about their team ahead of the match against Vietnam U22 (Photo: VFF).

However, the Malaysian press remains quite pessimistic about their team's chances. Majoriti commented: "The 4-1 victory against U22 Laos gives U22 Malaysia a chance to advance directly to the semi-finals, thus keeping alive their hopes of winning a medal in men's football at the 33rd SEA Games."

However, the real challenge awaits coach Nafuzi Zain's team when they face Vietnam U22 in the final match of Group B.

The clash between the two leading football nations in Southeast Asia is always highly anticipated, especially at the national team level, due to their high professional quality and competitiveness. At the youth level, this match also attracts attention as fans in the region want to assess the development of football in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Looking back at previous encounters, the Vietnam U22 team has consistently defeated the Malaysia U22 team, including a victory at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.

At that year's tournament, the two teams were in Group B, considered the "group of death," which included Thailand, Laos, and Singapore. The pressure was evident when the U22 Malaysia team easily defeated Laos in their opening match but then lost 0-2 to Thailand in their second game.

This defeat meant that coach E. Elavarasan's team had to win 3 points against Vietnam U22 in the crucial match. However, their hopes were dashed early when Nguyen Van Tung opened the scoring in the 6th minute, before doubling the lead in the 33rd minute.

U22 Vietnam only needs a draw against U22 Malaysia to secure a place in the next round (Photo: Anh Khoa).

Malaysia managed to pull one back thanks to a goal from Aliff Izwan Yuslan two minutes before the end of the first half, but two red cards in the second half for Safwan Mazlan and Najmudin Akmal ruined the team's comeback efforts.

The match ended with a 2-1 victory for Vietnam U22, resulting in Malaysia U22 being eliminated from the group stage.

That failure sparked much debate, with fans constantly questioning the quality of Malaysia's next generation of footballers. They have repeatedly failed to meet expectations. Although the U22 Malaysia team has won several titles, such as the 2023 Merlion Cup, greater responsibility is believed to lie with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for the lack of significant change despite the youth team's repeated failures.

In the current context, the chances of the Malaysian U22 team causing an upset against Vietnam are still considered quite slim. The lack of coordinated preparation, the inconsistent tactics of coach Nafuzi, and the limited squad partly reflect the gap between Malaysia and their regional rivals.

Therefore, if the Malaysian U22 team continues to lose to the Vietnamese U22 team, the question arises: has this reached the limit of Harimau Muda (the nickname of the Malaysian U22 team) or is the time spent with the team simply being wasted?

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-malaysia-nhan-xet-bat-ngo-ve-co-hoi-cua-doi-nha-voi-u22-viet-nam-20251210183433392.htm