Experts are pessimistic about U.23 Malaysia, it is not easy to win against Laos: Even more worried when facing Vietnam

According to Malaysian football experts, the country's U.23 team can only hope to beat U.23 Laos in the opening match of the men's football SEA Games 33 at 4:00 p.m. on December 6.

U.23 Malaysia will not easily overcome Laos team

Expert Zakaria Rahim believes that, based on the current force in the hands of coach Nafuzi Zain when U.23 Malaysia arrived in Bangkok (Thailand) on December 4, there were only about 16 players, so the possibility of winning against U.23 Laos in the opening match was very difficult, we could only hope for a surprise or some surprise to happen.

U.23 Vietnam (right) in a narrow 2-1 win over U.23 Laos on December 3. U.23 Malaysia must be extremely cautious.

Photo: Dong Nguyen Khang

U.23 Malaysia currently does not have full squad because domestic clubs have not released players, as the SEA Games is not on the FIFA Days schedule.

According to journalist Zulhelmi Zainal Azam of Astro Arena channel, naturalized striker Fergus Tierney can only play for U.23 Malaysia at SEA Games 33 if the home team makes it to the semi-finals.

Quoc Viet regrets not scoring yet, determined to get 3 points in the match against Malaysia

"Based on what is happening, the chances for U.23 Malaysia at SEA Games 33 are quite low. If they believe in their abilities as they have declared and are competitive enough, they need to overcome U.23 Laos. Then, they also have to defeat U.23 Vietnam to truly become a candidate.

However, what U.23 Laos showed (in the 1-2 loss to U.23 Vietnam on December 3) showed that they are not an easy opponent. As for U.23 Vietnam, the strength and depth of this team has shown that they are worthy candidates for the gold medal. Vietnamese football has long been famous for training young players, and they still hold this advantage over other countries in the region," said expert Zakaria Rahim.

"The prospect of U.23 Malaysia can find a chance to enter the semi-finals. But first of all, they must overcome U.23 Laos, then hope to find a positive result against U.23 Vietnam. In groups A and C, U.23 Thailand and Indonesia are considered the two most promising candidates for the semi-finals. In group B, U.23 Vietnam is holding a big advantage. Therefore, U.23 Malaysia can hope to be the second team with the best performance.

U.23 Malaysia arrived in Bangkok (Thailand) on December 4 with incomplete members. It is unclear whether they will have the full 23-man force as announced.

Photo: FAM/X Screenshot

U.23 Singapore in Group A and U.23 Myanmar in Group C are expected to compete (for the best second-place finisher in the three groups). If U.23 Malaysia wins against Laos while Singapore draws with Timor Leste and the Philippines draws with Myanmar, then U.23 Malaysia will qualify for the next round even if they lose to U.23 Vietnam," according to expert Zakaria Rahim.

"However, although U.23 Malaysia still has hope of reaching the semi-finals as the second-placed team in the group, coach Nafuzi Zain's team also needs to do something big to get a positive result.

But at present we are very pessimistic, because we do not see a strong enough squad to challenge the opponents. U.23 Malaysia is not well prepared, the force is full of fluctuations, so it is difficult to grasp how coach Nafuzi Zain is building the squad to compete," expert Zakaria Rahim concluded in an interview on Astro Arena channel on December 4.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-gia-bi-quan-voi-u23-malaysia-thang-lao-khong-de-185251205084253524.htm