The home team left the tournament empty-handed, Malaysian media lamented: At U.23 Vietnam!

Being eliminated early after 2 matches makes the encounter between U.23 Malaysia and U.23 Kuwait only a formality. However, the coaches of both teams are determined to win 3 points, dedicated to the fans who always follow the players’ journey.

U.23 Malaysia was rated better but after 90 minutes had to admit a 1-2 defeat. The Southeast Asian representative did not show much (only controlled the ball 45%) and received 12 shots from U.23 Kuwait. At the end of the first half, coach Garrido’s team also received 2 consecutive disadvantages. First, goalkeeper Sheikh Izhan received a direct red card for a dangerous foul against Kuwait U.23’s Al Awadhi. Next, the “Malay Tigers” also conceded a goal in the 14th minute of injury time.

Playing hard in the second half, U.23 Malaysia continued to let U.23 Kuwait double the gap in the 60th minute. Haqimi Azim shortened the score 3 minutes later but it was not enough for U.23 Malaysia to receive a final defeat. match 1-2.

U.23 Malaysia left the tournament for the second time in a row with 0 points. Previously, in the 2022 Asian U.23 tournament – the tournament where U.23 Malaysia was in the same group as U.23 Vietnam, they were also eliminated with 3 losses. After reaching the quarterfinals of U.23 Asia 2018, U.23 Malaysia has never once had the joy of winning a match.

Sheet Malaymail commented: “Malaysian football suffered another defeat when the “Young Tigers” were eliminated from the U.23 Asian tournament. More worth mentioning, it came early, after the 0-2 loss to U.23 Vietnam in the second round. We still bitterly left the tournament with 2 empty hands: 0 points, 6 goals lost, 1 goal.

These are not good signs for the future of Malaysian football. The national U.23 team failed to pass the group stage for the second time in a row. Malaysia also suffered the same fate as the 2022 tournament in Uzbekistan. Perhaps Malaysian youth football needs a big revolution to keep up with Vietnam and Indonesia. Investments in youth football have not been truly successful, and talented players are quickly fading away. In recent days, critics of Malaysian football have continuously criticized, the players do not deserve to suffer that situation.

Meanwhile, sheet The Star suddenly mentioned U.23 Vietnam after U.23 Malaysia lost 1-2 to Kuwait. This newspaper said that losing 0-2 to the “Golden Star Warriors” in the second match greatly affected the psychology of Malaysian players.

This newspaper commented: “Losing to U.23 Vietnam in the second match ruined all the plans of U.23 Malaysia. The players lost their spirit, even U.23 Malaysia had to cancel training because the players were psychologically affected.

Everyone expected the match against Kuwait U.23 in the final match to be won, as a balm to soothe the already injured pride of Malaysia U.23. But then the events at Al Janoub Stadium on April 23 once again made the team’s injuries worse. U.23 Malaysia left the tournament with a 1-2 defeat.

After the match against U.23 Kuwait, midfielder Adam Afkar apologized to the fans on behalf of the entire team. However, the wave of criticism of the players’ performances in this country is still increasing. Many fans even demanded that coach Garrido be fired for not leaving any mark since taking charge of the U.23 Malaysia team.