PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s national football team coach Peter Cklamovski hailed his players’ grit, resilience and pride despite losing 3-1 to Vietnam in their final Group F Asian Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
“I hope the Malaysian supporters are proud of the players’ effort, commitment and desire as they gave a strong display in a tough away fixture.
‘’From the bottom of their hearts, they gave everything they could,” said Cklamovski.
“Although they didn’t get the result, the way they fought on is an inspiration to the nation.”
Malaysia showed determination throughout, battling from start to finish in front of a sell-out crowd at Nam Dinh Stadium.
Vietnam, however, proved to be more clinical. Do Duy Manh drew first blood in the seventh minute before striker Rafaelson Bezerra - also known as Nguyen Xuan Son - struck twice in the second half (51st and 59th minutes).
Malaysia replied through Endrick dos Santos in the 76th minute.
Cklamovski pointed to missed opportunities as the turning point.
“They scored early from a corner with a great delivery, but I thought we responded well,” he said.
“We created really good moments in the first half. If we had taken one of those chances to make it 1-1, it could have changed the game.
“We had four or five very good chances. These are the moments that decide matches. Credit to Vietnam - they took their chances, especially their Brazilian players who were excellent.”
Malaysia’s campaign was overshadowed by controversy after the Asian Football Confederation ruled that they had fielded ineligible players in two earlier matches - a 2-0 win over Nepal and a 4-0 victory over Vietnam - both of which were later recorded as 3-0 defeats.
Cklamovski acknowledged the emotional toll on his squad.
“There’s a healing process needed. The players are human beings - they’ve gone through devastation and disappointment,” he said.
“Now it’s about recovery, travelling back, and for the players to refocus with their clubs before we come together again as a national team,” he said.
Malaysia ended their qualifying campaign with nine points from six matches, and will now look forward to two important assignments - Hyundai AFF Cup (July 24-Aug 26) and FIFA Asean Cup ( September).
