KUALA LUMPUR: The national Under-23 football squad edged their Indian counterparts 2-1 in a friendly match played behind closed doors at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium on Friday night.
The Harimau Muda, under the guidance of Spanish coach Juan Torres Garrido (pic), opened the scoring through T. Saravanan in the 33rd minute before Mohd Alif Zikri Zaini Anuar doubled their lead in the 48th minute.
The Indian Under-23 squad, however, narrowed the deficit through Chingangbam Shivaldo Singh in the 77th minute.
Garrido’s team are scheduled to meet the Indian Under-23 team in another friendly on Monday (March 25) before leaving for Doha, Qatar, to compete in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup from April 15 to May 3, which is also a qualifier (top three in Doha earn automatic slots) for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In Doha, the national squad will continue with warm-up matches against China on April 3, Qatar (April 6 or 7) and a yet-to-be decided match on April 10 or 11.
Malaysia are drawn in Group D with Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Kuwait and only the top two teams in the group will advance to the quarter-finals. — Bernama
