THE Malaysian national futsal team has officially qualified for the 2026 Futsal Asian Cup Finals in Jakarta following their final Group G qualifying match.
Malaysia’s qualification was confirmed despite a 4-0 defeat to thirteen-time champions Iran at the SUKPA Indoor Stadium.
Iran opened the scoring in the fourth minute through a goal from Mehdi Mehdikhani.
Hossein Derakhshani extended Iran’s lead to 2-0 in the twelfth minute of the match.
Team captain Hossein Tayyebi scored Iran’s third goal in the thirty-third minute during the second half.
Ali Khalilvand completed the scoring for the Asian number one-ranked team with a fourth goal just three minutes later.
Coach Rakphol Sainetngam’s Malaysian squad demonstrated strong determination and created several scoring opportunities against the formidable Iranian side.
Iran finished at the top of Group G with a perfect record of nine points from their three matches.
Malaysia secured the group’s second position with a total of six points from their qualifying campaign.
The United Arab Emirates finished in third place with three points, while Bangladesh ended the group stage without any points.
Malaysia began their qualifying journey with a narrow 1-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates.
The team then delivered an impressive 7-1 win against Bangladesh in their second group match.
According to the tournament format, the eight group winners and seven best second-placed teams will advance to the finals.
Host nation Indonesia automatically qualifies for the tournament scheduled for next January. – Bernama
