KUALA LUMPUR: The national under-23 (U-23) football squad failed to repeat their form in the second friendly match against China when they went down 1-2 at Jinshan Stadium in Shanghai today.
Playing in cold weather, China quickly showed they were different from the team that lost to Harimau Muda last Saturday by taking the lead in the fifth minute through Du Yuesheng.
Juan Torres Garrido’s squad, however, were not deterred by the early setback and fought back to level the score when Muhammad Aliff Izwan Yuslan converted an attempt by Muhamad Syahir Bashah in the 34th minute.
China took the lead again in first-half injury time when Tao Qianlong found the net. His strike turned out to be the winning goal for his team.
Harimau Muda edged China 1-0 in their first Tier 2 friendly match at the same venue, which was part of the team’s preparations for the U-23 Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar next year.
Harimau Muda have been drawn in Group D for the Asian Cup and will open their campaign against Uzbekistan on April 17, followed by Vietnam (April 20) and Kuwait (April 23).
Meanwhile, Garrido shared that both friendlies served as good experiences and important for his charges ahead of the upcoming Asian Cup.
“I think it’s a good experience, these two games with good opponents, the team learnt to face different situations, performance in the first game was satisfactory, players gave everything. So we take it as a part of the training.
“But I think we are not ready yet (to face the Asian Cup). We will prepare in March and April before the game,” he said in an audio recording shared by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). -Bernama
