BANDUNG, Oct 1 - Malaysia missed out on a place in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 final despite recording an emphatic 6-0 win over Singapore in their final Division 1 Group A match at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium tonight.
Harimau Malaya was edged out by Indonesia on goals scored after both sides finished with seven points and an identical goal difference of plus nine.
Indonesia, who defeated Bangladesh 9-2 in the other Group A match at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta tonight, scored 11 goals overall compared with Malaysia’s nine to secure top spot and a place in the final.
In tonight’s encounter, Malaysia made a blistering start when South Korean referee Kim Jong-hyeok awarded them a penalty after a video assistant referee review, following Singapore defender Ryhan Stewart bringing down Fergus Tierney inside the box in the fourth minute.
Newly naturalised forward Bergson da Silva calmly converted the spot-kick four minutes later, sending goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud the wrong way with a shot down the middle for his second goal of the campaign.
Singapore responded strongly and came close to drawing level in the 14th minute when Song Ui-young dribbled past Malaysia captain Dion Cools, but goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi denied him from close range.
Syihan was again called into action six minutes later, producing another fine save to keep out Kyoga Nakamura’s effort from outside the penalty area.
Malaysia doubled their advantage in the 26th minute through Stuart Wilkin, who finished off an excellent Manuel Hidalgo delivery after the newly naturalised midfielder beat three Singapore players inside the box.
Bergson struck again in the 62nd minute, intelligently finishing Arif Aiman’s cross from the right to extend Malaysia’s lead.
Substitute Paulo Josue made it 4-0 in the 76th minute after turning home another assist from Arif, before fellow substitute Syahir Bashah added the fifth goal in the 86th minute.
Bergson completed a memorable hat-trick in second-half stoppage time to seal a resounding six-goal victory, which ultimately proved insufficient to send Malaysia into the final.
Harimau Malaya will face Vietnam in the third-place playoff in Jakarta on Monday (October 4).
