AFC Futsal Asian Cup: M'sia Crushed 7-0 By Afghanistan In Group D Action

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia were thrashed 7-0 by Afghanistan in their second Group D match of the 2026 AFC Futsal Asian Cup at the Jakarta International Velodrome, Indonesia, earlier today.

The first half saw the national side under head coach Addie Azwan Zainal start brightly, mounting wave after wave of attacks against Afghanistan in search of an opening goal.

However, Afghanistan struck first in the eighth minute through Seyed Hossein Mousavi before Farzad Mahmoodi finished off a pass from Sayed Mojtaba Husseini four minutes later to score their second goal.

The opponents, coached by Majid Mortezei, extended their lead with a third goal, this time through Sayed Mojtaba, a minute later, to make it 3-0 in the 13th minute.

The goal clearly boosted Afghanistan’s confidence as they continued to pile pressure on the national defence before Mohammad Moradi netted the fourth goal in the 15th minute.

After the break, Afghanistan wasted no time in adding to Malaysia’s woes when Reza Hossein Poor converted a pass from Omid Qanbari for the fifth goal, placing his team in a commanding position.

Afghanistan were not done yet, as they added another goal through a powerful long-range strike by goalkeeper Javad Safari in the 33rd minute before Omid Qanbari completed the rout with the seventh goal in the 39th minute.

The result leaves Malaysia at the bottom of Group D without a point, while Afghanistan sit top of the standings with six points, followed by Iran (six) and Saudi Arabia in third place (zero).

Malaysia had earlier lost 1-4 to Iran in their opening Group D match on Wednesday.

The national squad will conclude their group campaign against Saudi Arabia this Sunday.

For the record, the Harimau Malaya futsal squad failed to qualify for the previous two editions of the Asian Cup, namely in Kuwait in 2022 and Thailand in 2024.

In 12 appearances since 1999, Malaysia have only competed at the group stage and have yet to progress to the quarter-finals.

-- BERNAMA