Losing to U17 Vietnam, Malaysian youth football is immersed in a storm of criticism

(Dan Tri) - Losing to U17 Vietnam, U17 Malaysia continues to miss the continental playground. The series of failures of the youth teams has pushed the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) into the center of a storm of criticism and pressure for reform.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is facing a wave of criticism after a series of consecutive defeats by the national youth teams. Dr. Zulakbal Abdul Karim, a respected sports critic, has called on FAM to take responsibility and quickly implement fundamental reforms.

Dr. Zulakbal’s statement came after Malaysia U17 once again missed out on the AFC U17 Championship, marking the second consecutive time they failed to qualify. Previously, Malaysia U20 and U23 teams were in the same situation, leaving fans disappointed.

U17 Malaysia lost 0-4 to U17 Vietnam in the match that decided the ticket to the 2026 AFC U17 Championship of Group C qualifying round, taking place on November 30 (Photo: An An)

In the final match of Group C of the U17 Asian qualifiers, coach Javier Jorda Ribera's team suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat against host Vietnam. This result left U17 Malaysia in second place with 12 points after 5 matches, 3 points behind the top team Vietnam and officially eliminated.

Malaysia last participated in the AFC U17 Championship in 2023. Their best performance in this tournament was reaching the quarter-finals in 2014 under the guidance of coach S. Balachandran.

According to Dr. Zulakbal, FAM has not shown determination in dealing with long-standing problems and is repeating mistakes in youth football development. “The Asian Cup is the path to the World Cup, but all our youth teams have failed. Balachandran’s team was the strongest generation, but still could not qualify for the U17 World Cup,” he said.

Mr. Zulakbal pointed out that Malaysia had tried almost every option: from using domestic coaches, hiring foreign coaches, sending players to train in Europe to hosting the 2018 AFC U17 Championship, but all still did not bring the expected results. “We failed at every youth level but there were no significant adjustments. All sadness was quickly forgotten, until the next failure appeared,” he added.

The expert stressed that FAM needs to quickly analyze the root causes and develop a long-term plan to qualify for Asian tournaments. “If FAM does not admit defeat, Malaysian football will not be able to move forward. Meanwhile, many countries facing more difficult conditions are doing better than us,” he warned.

Dr Zulakbal is also concerned that the string of failures at the youth level will soon lead to the decline of the national team. He believes that FAM needs to act urgently, especially when it is reported that the National Football Development Programme (NFDP) may soon be transferred to FAM.

“If we cannot produce players capable of playing in the Youth World Cup, how can we dream of playing in the World Cup at the national team level? We have failed at the root for many years,” he concluded, emphasizing the urgency of comprehensively reforming Malaysia’s youth football system.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/thua-u17-viet-nam-bong-da-tre-malaysia-chim-trong-bao-chi-trich-20251202203804235.htm