Arif Aiman scores twice and Bergson da Silva adds another as Malaysia beat Bangladesh 3-0 in their FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 Group A opener in Jakarta.
NIPPY winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi scored twice as Malaysia opened their FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 Division 1 Group A campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Bangladesh at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here, today.
Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) striker Bergson da Silva added the third goal as the Harimau Malaya squad made a positive start in the inaugural regional tournament.
The match also saw JDT trio Bergson, Manuel Hidalgo and Brad Tapp make their national-team debuts after being handed starting berths, just a week after receiving clearance to represent Malaysia.
Malaysia, under interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe created the first clear chance in the fifth minute through Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim’s effort from outside the penalty box but Bangladesh goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon was alert to make the save.
Harimau Malaya finally broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when Arif Aiman calmly finished from inside the box after receiving a delightful pass from Nooa Laine.
Arif Aiman doubled Malaysia’s advantage in the 37th minute after capitalising on Bangladesh’s failure to clear the ball from a dangerous area before converting Stuart Wilkin’s assist.
Malaysia continued to dictate proceedings after the break and extended their lead in the 52nd minute through Bergson, who turned in Corbin Ong’s cross from the left.
Goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli then produced a fine double save in the 76th minute to deny Bangladesh midfielder Hamza Choudhury in a one-on-one situation and preserve Malaysia’s clean sheet.
Malaysia nearly made it 4-0 in the 82nd minute but substitute Fergus Tierney’s effort from outside the penalty box rattled the crossbar.
The 3-0 victory gives Malaysia an early boost ahead of their remaining Group A fixtures against hosts Indonesia here on Monday before facing Singapore in their last group match at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung on Oct 1.
The FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 was introduced at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur last year through a collaboration between FIFA and ASEAN, with the tournament aimed at using football to bring communities together, strengthen sporting development and create greater opportunities for the game.
