MALAYSIA U23 PAY PRICE IN LOSS AGAINST SAUDIS

Defender Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak and midfielders Bunyamin Omar and Safiq Rahim were all at the receiving end in the match that was played at the King Fahd Stadium.

Malaysia’s only goal in the game came off young striker Ahmad Shakir Md Ali towards the end of the game.

“Even though we lost, it was still an inspiring performance from the players where they played hard against a world-class team,“ said K. Rajagobal, the head coach of Malaysia.

“I can’t ask more from the players where they did their best against a team which is on a higher level than us. And again goalkeeper Mohd Farizal Marlias did well with several important saves.“

Apart from the injuries to the three players, the Malaysians had already contend with the absence of Mohd Khyrill Muhymeen Zambri, who is out with a torn cartilage.

But the good news is that two other players – Amar Rohidan and Mazlizam Mohd – will recover from flu.

While the Malaysians are using this match in preparation for the SEA Games in Laos, the Saudis are using it as their tune-up for their play-off World Cup match against Bahrain next week.