KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- The Harimau Muda are determined to make an impact in the Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers Group F campaign in Pathum Thani, Thailand, from Sept 3 to 9, says head coach Nafuzi Zain.
He said Malaysia faced a challenging group with hosts Thailand, Mongolia and Lebanon, but the national U-23 squad would give their all to secure a place in the final round, either as group champions or among the best runners-up.
“We are in a tough group because the other teams are very strong, but we came here to give everything in order to qualify for the final round.
“This is only my second tournament, so I also hope to deliver a good performance and play quality football. Even though most of our players are young and relatively new, we will do our best to reach the final round,” he told a pre-match press conference in Thailand today.
Nafuzi added that three players, namely defender Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili and forwards Muhammad Aliff Izwan Yuslan and Fergus Tierney, had only joined the team recently due to Super League commitments with their clubs, but he was confident their late arrival would not pose an issue.
“They were part of the squad in the previous competition, so I don’t think there will be a problem for them to gel quickly,” he said.
Nafuzi’s squad will open their campaign against Lebanon tomorrow, followed by Mongolia on Sept 6, before taking on Thailand in the final match on Sept 9, with all games scheduled at the Thammasat Stadium.
Only the 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will qualify for the finals in Saudi Arabia next January.
The U-23 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers are seen as a chance for redemption for the national side after their poor outing in the U-23 ASEAN Cup last July, when they failed to progress beyond the group stage.
Malaysia previously qualified for the U-23 Asian Cup in 2022 (Uzbekistan) and 2024 (Qatar), with their best result being a quarter-final appearance in 2018 in China.
-- BERNAMA
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