SEA Games 33 Football, U.23 Malaysia 0-1 U.23 Laos: Surprisingly, Xaysombath Bouapheng opened the score

U.23 Malaysia vs U.23 Laos at 4pm today, December 6th will be a decisive match and whoever wins will have a good chance to enter the semi-finals of men's football at SEA Games 33.

U.23 Malaysia is in a difficult position

U.23 Malaysia flew to Bangkok (Thailand) on December 4 to attend the 33rd SEA Games in groups of players and did not have the full 23-man squad as announced by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). U.23 Malaysia also had the shortest preparation period of only 11 days, and was full of limitations, the clubs also refused to release their players, pushing coach Nafuzi Zain into a nearly helpless situation. Astro Arena journalist Zulhelmi Zainal Azam exclaimed: "I have never seen U.23 Malaysia prepare for the SEA Games as badly as now!"

Coach Nafuzi Zain of the Malaysia U.23 team

PHOTO: AFP

Responding to the Malaysian press on December 5, coach Nafuzi Zain shared: "We have just known the number of players who will be present in the first match (against U.23 Laos), a total of 19 people. There are 3 key players, Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili, Fergus Tierney and Aliff Izwan Yuslan, who are not allowed by the club to join the team. With the force we have in hand, we must try our best and hope to have a good start."

Also according to coach Nafuzi Zain: "Laos U23 showed their great potential, they played very well against Vietnam U23 despite losing 1-2. Their playing style is very good defense with a large number of defenders and very quick counterattacks. That is their main weapon. Laos U23 also has most of the players who have played for the national team and have faced the Malaysian team in the recent 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers".

Young Lao players (red shirts) played very confidently.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

If U.23 Malaysia overcomes U.23 Laos, coach Nafuzi Zain hopes that in the next and most important match in the group stage when he meets U.23 Vietnam at 4:00 p.m. on December 11, he will have the timely addition of captain and defender Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili.

Meanwhile, the chance of U.23 Laos to continue now depends entirely on the encounter with U.23 Malaysia. This opponent is rated higher than U.23 Laos, but with the fact that they have caused difficulties for U.23 Vietnam, coach Ha Hyeok Jun's team has nothing to fear from U.23 Malaysia.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bong-da-sea-games-33-u23-malaysia-0-0-u23-lao-khong-de-bat-nat-185251206133608371.htm