KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has congratulated the Harimau Malaya national football squad and coaching staff on their success in advancing on merit to the Asian Cup 2023 finals.
In a statement on Istana Negara's Facebook page on Wednesday (June 15), His Majesty expressed his gratitude and happiness over the success and fighting spirit that was displayed by the national team in the qualifying round which ended on Tuesday (June 14).
Sultan Abdullah also thanked the supporters for the strong support given to the Harimau Malaya in their struggle to end a 42-year wait to qualify for the Asian Cup finals.
"I hope that this achievement will be an inspiration for the national squad to work harder to achieve the best results in the Asian Cup 2023.
"I pray that the squad achieve success and chart a new history at the tournament. Congratulations and keep up the fight in the Asian Cup 2023!," His Majesty said.
Malaysia ended the more than four-decade wait when they qualified on merit for the Asian Cup 2023 finals after they thrashed Bangladesh 4-1 in the last match of Group E of the qualifiers at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium here Tuesday night.
Malaysia ended the qualifying stage with six points to finish behind group champions Bahrain thus booking their ticket to the prestigious competition as one of the five best group runners-up.
Malaysia's goals were scored by Muhammad Safawi Rasid, Dion Cools, Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad and substitute Darren Lok while Bangladesh's by Mohammad Ibrahim.
The last time Malaysia made an appearance in the Asian Cup finals was in the 2007 edition when they co-hosted the tournament, but it has been more than 40 years since they advanced on merit to the finals since the 1980 edition in Kuwait. – Bernama
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