Euphoria was certainly in the air on Sept 8, 2024, when the Malaysian football team won the Merdeka Cup for the first time in 11 years. I, however, wasn’t feeling unalloyed joy. Sadly, the manner of their victory over Lebanon left me feeling deeply disappointed.
To be clear, there was nothing wrong with team Harimau Malaya’s performance on the night. Although the team only scored a single goal, there was plenty of enterprising attacking play, with several missed chances that could have made the win more comfortable.