PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s women’s football team endured a humiliating night as they were thrashed 0-16 by Asian giants Japan in their Group F match of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2026 qualifiers at the Cheras Football Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (Aug 8).
Japan’s dominance was clear from the opening whistle.
Anon Tsuda opened the floodgates in the fourth minute, and what followed was a relentless attacking display that left Malaysia’s defence scrambling throughout.
Tsuda went on to score three more goals (23rd, 30th and 60th minutes) in a sensational individual performance that epitomised Japan’s clinical finishing.
Mao Itamura added a hat-trick of her own (14th, 16th and 34th) while Asako Furuta joined the scoring spree with a superb treble as well, netting just before and after half-time (45th, 46th and 94th).
So Kijoma also found the net three times (53rd, 59th and 89th) while Sawa Tsuge (64th) and Yuka Kurimoto (69th and 78th) piled on the misery for the home side, taking the tally to an eye-watering 16 goals.
The young Malayan Tigress squad, still developing and gaining international exposure, struggled to create any good chances going forward and were pinned back for the majority of the match.
This result marks one of the heaviest defeats in recent memory for the Malaysian women’s youth team.
Malaysia earlier lost to Iran 3-0 on Tuesday. The team led by Cameron Ng would complete their group fixture by taking on Guam at the Cheras Football Stadium on Sunday.
