PETALING JAYA: Malaysian playmaker Romel Morales said scoring the last-minute equaliser against South Korea in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 was "like a dream".
It was also his first goal in Malaysian colours after three caps and he needed only five minutes to score the equaliser after coming on in injury time after the 90th minute.
The 26-year-old was heavily criticised in the first two matches but all that was forgotten as he helped Malaysia get a historic 3-3 draw against giants South Korea in the final Group E game at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Doha on Thursday (Jan 25).
"Since I arrived here, I knew the competition would be very tough. I needed to adapt fast to the team, so I tried my best just to come in and give my best. I was waiting for the chance to take it," said the naturalised Colombian.
"I am grateful to the coach (Kim Pan-gon) for giving me the opportunity and even until the last minute, I had the belief that I could do something for the nation. It was like a dream when I scored.
"I did something and I hope the people will be proud of us. We did a hard job and now we can tell people that we can take on a team that's played in many World Cups."
Malaysia came close to defeating the two-time champion before settling for a 3-3 draw.
Following this result, South Korea remains in second position in Group E with five points, while Malaysia gains one point.
