All about the power of Malaysia and why they are said to ‘find their own death’ when facing Vietnam

Before coach Tan Cheng Hoe left his position as head coach of the Malaysia national team, he received a lot of advice to switch to a 3-4-3 formation instead of a 4-3-3. This is not an imitation of Vietnam, the team has been very successful with a 3-back system under coach Park Hang-seo, but because this scheme is very popular in the Malaysian league. This means that most of the players are familiar with it and naturally deploy it when they are recruited.

Coach Brad Maloney is also famous for his 3-4-3 formation, from the time he led the current U19 to U23 team. So it is not surprising that this system is operated quite smoothly. In an ideal state, the “Malaya Tigers” are solid on defense and highly damaging on attack. With the ability to press effectively, they make it difficult for opponents to build play, then switch positions quickly to exploit the spaces they have.

The core strength of U23 Malaysia lies in two dynamic midfielders Mukhairi Ajmal and Nik Akif Syahiran. They have the ability to cover, recover the ball well and accelerate the transition from defense to attack, from 5-2-3 when losing the ball to 3-2-5 when having the ball. Another key player in the system is right-back Quentin Cheng, who has the pace and energy to cover both ends of the pitch. In most games, 60% of Malaysian attacks came from the right flank. They have conceded every opponent in the group stage SEA Games 31 and has a total of 9 goals.

Malaysia have scored in every group stage game, but also conceded in every match. (Photo: Nhu Y)

This at first glance, scoring goals does not seem to be a difficult task for Malaysia. However, the offensive power of the “Malaya Tigers” needs further testing. The match against Thailand, they did not look like they would have a goal until the opponent fell into a losing position and retreated deep into the home field.

The defense is still clean sheet after 4 matches of the group stage of Vietnam certainly brings a big challenge for Malaysia. They will definitely be in trouble if Le Van Xuan or Le Van Do pin Quentin Cheng on the right flank, while Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc and Ly Cong Hoang Anh’s prolific fitness limit the pair’s active space. Double Ajmal – Syahiran.

It should also be repeated, the perfection just mentioned of Malaysia is in the “ideal state”. In fact, they rarely achieve this. The main reason is that coach Maloney’s players lack real combat experience as veteran Malaysia Super League coach, Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah, once pointed out. After watching the matches in the Southeast Asian U23 tournament earlier this year (Malaysia was eliminated from the group stage after 2 defeats to Laos), he said that the home team is lagging far behind in the region. “Even basic things like holding the ball, coordinating they don’t do well, it all creates a disjointed team,” said Abdullah.

On the eve of the 31st SEA Games, contrary to the claim of winning the Gold medal inside the U23s, former national player Datuk Jamal Nasir thought that “getting to the semi-finals is already a success”, and “in the event of being eliminated from the round”. table, it’s not a terrible failure.” Like his predecessor, Abdullah, Nasir admits Malaysian football is at a very low standard.

The lack of discipline and easy to make mistakes is the problem of U23 Malaysia. (Photo: Nhu Y)

These statements are not unfounded when Malaysia U23 failed to beat Singapore and Cambodia. Maloney’s young players love to express themselves, and it leads to individualism and disorganization. In that context, the Malaysian defense tends to rise, leading to always conceding a goal. Of the four teams in the semi-finals, they are the team that has conceded the most goals.

The 7th minute goal in the match against Singapore is a typical case. Malaysia were very lucky to escape defeat when Glenn Kweh escaped under the Malay defenders after a long pass from his teammates. The danger would end if Safwan Mazlan made a simple clearance upwards, but the player decided to go for the ball. Singapore easily snatched it back after the raid, leading to a shot from outside the box that hit Shahiran’s goalkeeper Azri Ghani. This moment also denounced the poor organization of the Malaysian side when 7 players were almost lined up in front of the penalty area, emptying the middle and no one to stop Shahiran.

Malaysian media sadly commented that “Malayan tiger cubs” had “chosen death” when they could not avoid the Vietnamese host. That worry is well-founded. Coach Park Hang-seo’s army is only afraid of disciplined defensive teams. They will be very different when they find plenty of space to play ball and unleash their creativity.