KUALA LUMPUR: The national Under-17 (U-17) football squad began their 2023 U-17 Asian Cup campaign in Thailand today with a 0-4 loss to Yemen.
In the opening Group A match at the Thammasat Stadium in Bangkok, Osmera Omaro’s boys were outplayed by the opposing team who opened the scoring through Abdulrahman Al Khader Abdulnabi in the 21st minute.
Yemen doubled the lead 10 minutes later through Adel Abbas Qasem, while Anwar Hussein Abdullah Al Turaiqi tucked away a penalty kick in the 48th minute.
The national squad were further punished when Ali Al Hanbasi’s pass in the penalty area deflected off the foot of Adib Ibrahim to make it 0-4 with two minutes remaining before injury time.
Malaysia will face hosts Thailand in the second group match at the Pathum Thani Stadium on Sunday before the third against Laos at the Thammasat Stadium on June 21.
If they qualify for the top eight, the expected opponents are among the continent’s three strongest teams from Group B, namely South Korea, Qatar or Iran, with Afghanistan rounding up the group.
Malaysia are competing in the 2023 U-17 Asian Cup to win one of four automatic slots to the 2023 U-17 World Cup. - Bernama