DOHA: Harimau Malaya’s sensational winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim described the team’s failure to enter the Asian Cup round of 16 as a disappointment that could not be healed by their scintillating 3-3 draw with South Korea last night.
Mohamad Faisal, better known as Faisal Halim, said although the draw against the two-time champions and much higher-ranked South Koreans was encouraging, the national team still could not accept their defeats in the first two matches.
“We knew we could not make it to the next round. Although happy with tonight’s result, the players still could not accept our two earlier losses.
“We will try to bounce back in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round and at least learn from the results here,” he said when met after the final Group E match against South Korea at Al Janoub Stadium here.
Commenting on the match, Mohamad Faisal, who scored Malaysia’s first goal, said the squad knew it was difficult to steal a point.
However, he said head coach Kim Pan Gon’s approach and the players’ high work rate throughout the match were key to their success in denying South Korea a victory.
“We gave it our all, always chasing after the ball, but it was tough playing against South Korea. We closed a gap here, they opened up one over there. It is impossible to describe our tiredness,” said the 26-year-old Selangor FC player.
Midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong drew first blood for South Korea in the 21st minute before Malaysia fought back to lead after 17 minutes in the second half with goals from Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim’s strike and Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi’s penalty.
However, South Korea equalised with just 10 minutes of regulation time left through an own goal by goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed, before taking the lead at 3-2 through a penalty by Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min in added time.
Substitute and naturalised player Romel Morales emerged as the hero for Malaysia when he scored in the 15th minute of added time to earn Malaysia the draw and their only point here.
Malaysia’s hope of creating history by qualifying for the round of 16 was dashed after they lost their first two group matches, 0-4 to Jordan and 0-1 to Bahrain, and finished last with one point. -Bernama
