Harimau Malaya under-19s reach the AFC U20 Asian Cup finals in China

The Harimau Malaya under-19 team will play at the AFC U20 Asian Cup finals in China next year. FAM confirmed the place on 7 September, the day after the qualifying group stage finished.

A 2-1 win in Vientiane

Malaysia beat Laos 2-1 in their last Group H match. Haziq Aziz Ahyok Abdul Qayyum scored in the 7th minute, Odin Siphanit levelled for the hosts in the 60th minute, and Fadhlul Hadi Zulkarnain settled it in the 76th minute.

The qualifiers were played in Vientiane.

Second place was enough

Indonesia won Group H, beating Australia 2-0 on the same night. That left Malaysia second, and the qualifying format sets aside seven places for the best runners-up across the groups — one of which the under-19s filled.

It is a narrow road to a finals place, and this one turned on a single goal in Vientiane.

Three ASEAN teams in China

The AFF counts three of its members among the qualifiers: Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Thailand came through as one of the strongest runners-up in Group J.

FAM has named Hangzhou as the host city, with the finals to be played in March and April.

For Shukor Adan’s group, that changes the job. There is no longer a campaign to get through, only a tournament to prepare for, and the better part of half a year in which to do it.

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• A 23-man Harimau Malaya squad for the FIFA ASEAN Cup, nine of them from Johor Darul Ta’zim