Malaysia prove a point by holding Koreans but let’s hope it’s not flash in the Pan

THERE were tears, jeers and finally some cheers.

That probably captures the emotional rollercoaster ride of Malaysia’s football team in the Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, which was nothing short of eventful.

Brickbats were hurled at Harimau Malaya after losing 0-4 to Jordan and 0-1 to Bahrain in the first two Group E matches. It saw them running out of the last 16 contention and nothing were expected from them in their last group match against the mighty South Koreans on Thursday.

In fact, the dejected fans had expected a massacre at the hands of the former Asian champions headed by striker and captain Son Heung-min but surprisingly, the Malaysians boys ripped open the formbook and did the unthinkable by holding the South Koreans 3-3 to wrap up their campaign.

They did not only salvage their pride by winning one point but also proved a point that Harimau Malaya, led by Kim Pan-gon, are made of sterner stuff.

The way these Tigers fought back has brought back renewed hope.

Who would have thought a side ranked 130th in the world could have caused so much trouble to a side ranked 24th, who had even beaten some of the top sides in the past like Germany, Iceland and Chile.

And it won’t be wrong to say how we felt exactly at that point – just like that one particular fan who cried unabashedly in the stands – super proud of what he had witnessed.

It was learnt that this fan by the name of Derrick Gan had even sold his motorcycle in order to make the trip to Qatar to support the team.

Diehard fans like Derrick and many others from different races, backgrounds and ideologies came together in celebration – just like the good old times.

Indeed, this batch of players has come good.

Faisal Halim may be the second smallest player in the Asian Cup (1.58m), but he came up with a huge performance to score the first goal from a unique angle.

Then youngster Arif Aiman Hanapi buried a penalty shot – to symbolise the hope of seeing more young talents stepping up.

Two naturalised players, Romel Morales and Paulo Josue, who were criticised by some for their past performances, proved to be decisive ones in the game.

It was Josue’s pass that led to Morales’ last-minute equaliser in injury time, which brought the house down at the Al-Janoub Stadium.

Stuart Wilkin, to me, was the player of the tournament with his industrious performances in midfield. He is sure to grab the attention of clubs in the region.

Centreback Dominic Tan was truly rock solid against Bahrain and South Korea. His partners Shahrul Saad, Dion Cools and Daniel Ting were also impressive with their assuring displays at the back.

Credit to midfielder Brendan Gan and striker Darren Lok, who showed that work rate and passion can take you places.

And what was priceless was the reaction of Heung-min.

He may have terrorised world-class defenders in the Premier League but the blank look on his face at the final whistle sums up the unexpected avalanche that hit the Koreans.

Harimau Malaysia’s fighting show also won the hearts of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. In fact, the PM has announced an injection of RM5mil for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to further enhance the team.

While we are happy for the team, we must also face the reality when the celebration tones down.

What we achieved against South Korea cannot be a one-off. We need consistent results and the work off the field has to be better.

In terms of style of play, we are nowhere near the nations we played against in Group E. We have tactical organisation but we need to be better with the ball to face top teams regularly.

Many former coaches had questioned players’ game intelligence and this is another area that we need to master.

It’s time to organise more friendlies against higher-ranked nations as the exposure will be good.

Our next focus is the World Cup 2026-Asian Cup 2027 second-round qualifiers where Malaysia will play Oman twice on March 21 and March 26.

Pan-gon has a headache as the local league will only begin in May and it’s tough to keep the players on their toes during the pre-season. He has to look at alternative plans – start a national training camp early and hold friendlies against top clubs.

The foundation is there but the work needs to be enhanced and I do hope FAM will triple their efforts to strengthen the national team under Pan-gon.

After holding South Korea, it is time to create another history as we are just two wins away from reaching the third-round of the World Cup qualifiers for the first time and qualify for the Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia.

Will there be more celebration or is all this just a flash in the pan?