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KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Under-19 football squad’s hopes of appearing in the U-20 Asian Cup in 2023 were dashed after being thrashed 6-2 by South Korea at the Mongolian Football Federation Stadium in Ulaanbaatar today.
In the last Group E match of the qualifying round, Suwon FC striker Lee Young-jun wasted no time in becoming a thorn in the flesh for the Harimau Muda squad, scoring a hattrick in the 34th, 74th and 81st minutes.
South Korea romped to a goal-fest through Lee Seung-won’s two goals, a 57th minute strike and an 88th minute penalty, while Bae Jun-ho was also on target in the 50th minute.
Malaysia narrowed the gap through goals from Adam Farhan Faizal in the 55th minute and Aliff Izwan Yuslan in the 68th minute, while Ubaidullah Shamsul was sent off in the 67th minute after receiving a second yellow card.
The result saw the Harimau Muda team failing to finish in the top two, after Mongolia thrashed Sri Lanka 7-0 in the second match to take second place in the group on goal difference, despite the two teams sharing four points.
Hassan Sazali Mohd Waras’ squad, who opened their Group E campaign with a 1-1 draw against Mongolia before beating Sri Lanka 3-0, scored six goals, one fewer than the home team.
South Korea had earlier confirmed their slot in the 2023 tournament as group champions, after thrashing Sri Lanka 6-0 and Mongolia 7-0.
Only 10 group champions and the five best runners-up have a chance to qualify for the final round in Uzbekistan, which is scheduled to take place from March 1-18. – Bernama, September 18, 2022