PETALING JAYA: Malaysia may have missed out on a place in the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asian Cup finals, but head coach Takayoshi Ishihara believes the Young Tigresses have the talent to make it next time.
Their hopes were crushed by a 4-0 defeat to India in Sunday’s Group E decider at the Selayang Stadium, leaving Malaysia second in the standings with six points to miss out on the solitary qualification ticket.
It was a painful end to a campaign that had offered plenty of promise, with Malaysia beating Syria 1-0 and Iraq 4-0 to set up the winner-takes-all clash against India.
Despite the disappointment of falling short in front of a near-capacity crowd, Ishihara insisted the experience should serve as a springboard for the team’s development.
“Honestly, we really wanted to qualify this time and the players believed that we could do it.
“It is heartbreaking, but I believe we can do it next time,” he said.
Ishihara acknowledged India’s superiority but believes the gap can be narrowed if Malaysia’s young players are given more opportunities to test themselves against stronger opposition.
“I understand India are the better team.
“But rather than just defend in front of our goal, we needed to challenge them.
“Our girls have talent, speed and skills, but they lack the experience of playing against top teams,” he said.
“India have shown us what it takes. We learned a lot and this kind of harsh experience is exactly what will push this team to improve.”
There is also hope that Malaysia can build on the experience, with several key players, including forwards Lim You, Keisha Adeliena and Qaseh Riana Dafira, still young enough to feature in the next Under-17 qualification campaign.
“They are still very young. If we continue to give them opportunities and exposure against quality sides, this group have the potential to become the foundation of Malaysian women’s football,” Ishihara said.
India will join hosts China, North Korea, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines in the finals, scheduled for March 31 to April 17, 2027.
