Malaysia 0-3 Tajikistan in King’s Cup Final

The match was played on a muddy pitch where the game ended 0-0, forcing a penalty shootout. It was a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out for Malaysia as Dion Cools, Nazmi Faiz Mansor and Safawi Rasid missed the spot in the King’s Cup defeat to Tajikistan at the Chiang Mai Stadium.

Harimau Malaya came close to scoring in 23 minutes. However, midfielder Brendan Gan’s header flew inches away.

Realising that Sumareh was one card away from being sent to an early bath, Pan Gon replaced him with lively winger Faisal Halim at the start of the second half.

In the second half, Akhyar Rashid dribbled over three but slipped just as he was about to shoot. Safawi found space outside the box a few minutes later, but his strong drive couldn’t beat Rustam.

Tajikistan had no apparent chance in Malaysia’s penalty box, but their attempt on three long shots were blocked by Malaysian goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed.

Malaysia seemed to lose focus in the final 10 minutes, forcing a penalty shoot-out when Soirov’s 84th-minute goal was ruled out for offside to make it 0-0 at full time, forcing the game to be decided on penalties.

Tajikistan goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov was cheered in the Central Asian side in the penalty shootout, saving the opening two penalties and forcing Safawi to make a mistake in the attempt. The match ended with Tajikistan wins while Malaysia loses.