Malaysian newspaper strongly reacts to home team's 0-11 defeat before meeting U17 Vietnam

(Dan Tri) - The U17 Malaysian team received a strong wave of criticism after losing 0-11 during a training trip in Croatia, right before meeting U17 Vietnam in the qualifying round of the U17 Asian Cup.

In the match last Tuesday, Malaysia U17 suffered a 0-11 defeat against Croatia U17. It is worth mentioning that this is only Croatia’s “second-tier” U17 team. Because the main team of this country is participating in the 2025 U17 World Cup taking place in Qatar.

U17 Malaysia lost 0-11 to U17 Croatia (Photo: FAM).

That defeat came right before U17 Malaysia entered the qualifying round of the U17 Asian Cup when they faced opponents U17 Vietnam, U17 Singapore, U17 Hong Kong (China) and U17 Northern Mariana Islands.

The Malaysian press has harshly criticized the Malaysian U17 team after this unbelievable defeat. Hmetro newspaper commented: “The heavy defeat of the Malaysian U17 team against the Croatia U17 team was an unexpected result. Notably, these were only second-class players of the Croatia U17 team.

What happened to Malaysia's football development system? How could the Malaysian U17 team be defeated 0-11? Is this just a collection of poor quality Malaysian players?

There are so many questions that have been raised when there is a national development program called the National Football Development Programme (NFDP). In fact, millions of ringgit have been poured into Malaysia’s youth football training systems in Gambang, Pahang. That shows how serious Malaysia is about developing youth football.

U17 Malaysia faces many challenges before the match against U17 Vietnam (Photo: AFC).

Football academies are also springing up like mushrooms in other localities. But the 0-11 defeat of the U17 team has dealt a painful blow to our pride. Malaysian football managers need to take this defeat seriously, as the U17 Asian Cup qualifiers are approaching.”

Commenting on the New Straits Times, commentator Datuk Richard Scully called on Malaysia U17 coach Javier Jorda Ribera to explain the defeat. He said: “It is unbelievable that Malaysia U17 lost 0-11. We need to know what happened and what coach Ribera did. He needs to give a satisfactory explanation because the fans are very angry after such a heavy defeat.

I think the public anger is completely justified because this result is unacceptable. The Malaysian youth teams have never lost so badly. I heard that coach Ribera tested the second team during the training camp, but no matter what, losing 0-11 is still unacceptable.

Now we can only wait for Ribera's explanation and hope he will help the team get ready for the AFC U17 qualifiers. Time is running out, so I hope he has a suitable plan."

Meanwhile, the vice president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Datuk Dollah Salleh, confirmed that he is waiting for a report from coach Javier Jorda Ribera. He said: “I just spoke with the coaching staff of the U17 Malaysia. I am waiting for a full report from them after the recent heavy 0-11 loss. We will comment after knowing the cause.”

The Asian U17 Championship qualifiers take place from November 22 to November 30. The decisive match between Malaysia U17 and Vietnam U17 will take place on November 30. The matches will take place at the Vietnam Youth Football Center.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-malaysia-phan-ung-manh-doi-nha-tham-bai-0-11-truoc-khi-gap-u17-viet-nam-20251112185854780.htm