Malaysian players (in yellow) during the Asian Cup group stage match against Jordan, January 16, 2024. Photo by Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani
The Malaysian media turned its back on the national team after their 4-0 defeat to Jordan in the group stage of the Asian Cup.
“It’s rubbish, senseless and in bad taste. These words best describe Malaysia’s return to the Asia Cup after its nightmare in the 2007 edition,” wrote pundit Ajitpal Singh in New Strait Times.
Malaysia conceded three goals to world number 86 Jordan in the first half on January 15, before losing another in the second.
The Malaysian defense gave up a lot of space to their opponents to finish comfortably. Malaysia had 53% possession in this match with eight shots but failed to score.
Asian Cup Highlights: Malaysia 0-4 Jordan
After the match, coach Kim Pan-gon apologized and took responsibility for the loss.
Kim’s apology failed to calm the media and fans.
“After the beating, Pan Gon pathetically apologized, which is not enough. When entering a tournament, the basic rule is to never underestimate your rivals, but he did just that , and the team paid the price,” Singh wrote in New Strait Timesadding that the Malaysian coach was confident with the naturalized players who made up half of the team.
The newspaper also criticized Kim for using a “very amateurish” approach when fielding an attacking team in the opening match against a team from the top 100 in the world rankings.
In their previous tournament in 2007 as co-host, Malaysia lost all three matches, conceding 12 times and scoring just one goal. Their next two opponents in this Asian Cup are Bahrain and South Korea.
Malaysia has naturalized many players, even those without Malaysian origins, in recent years. However, the most recent title they won was the 2010 AFF Cup.
Malaysia ranks 130th in the world rankings, while Bahrain is one place above Jordan.
If Malaysia fail to win against Bahrain on Saturday night, their chances of qualifying will be lost as they will face powerful South Korea in the final round.
