Malaysia has a chance to reach the finals of the 2023 U-20 Asian Cup

KUALA LUMPUR: The national Under-19 (U-19) squad revived their chances of qualifying for the finals of the 2023 Asian Under-20 (U-20) Cup, after defeating Sri Lanka 3-0 in Group E of the qualifying campaign in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Friday.

The success at the Mongolian Football Federation Stadium (MFF) was the maiden victory of the national youth squad coached by Hassan Sazali Mohd Waras, after a 1-1 draw against the home team last Wednesday.

Alif Izwan Yuslan’s two goals in the 30th minute and in the extra time of the second half, in addition to Adam Farhan Faizal’s goal (70th minute) in the clash, gave Malaysia three valuable points and could put pressure on the leaders, South Korea in the slot hunt automatic.

In the action, Sri Lanka had to play with 10 players after RV Navod Lakshitha was given a red card in the 53rd minute, for a foul on Muhammad Marwan Abdul Rahman.

After this, Malaysia and South Korea will meet in the last action of the group this Sunday with only a win ensuring that the national squad will qualify for the finals of the U-20 Asian Cup 2023 as group champions.

If they fail to win or even record a draw, Malaysia will have to expect to qualify through the five runner-up slots in the best group.

Only the 10 group winners and the five best runners-up have the chance to advance to the finals in Uzbekistan scheduled to take place in March.

Meanwhile, in another Group E action, South Korea went on a scoring spree to beat Mongolia 7-0 to consolidate their position at the top with six points, leaving Malaysia in second place with four points while Mongolia is third (one point) and Sri Lanka are at the bottom with no points.

source – BERNAMA