HANOI: Malaysia’s Under-23 (U23) squad hero, Muhammad Nur Azfar Fikri Azhar vows to play without fear if he is fielded as the main eleven in the clash against Laos in the second Group B match of men’s football in the 31st SEA Games here tomorrow night.
After scoring the winner in Malaysia’s 2-1 win over Thailand in the opening match last Saturday, Muhammad Nur Azfar, who is affectionately called Kaka, clearly looking forward to the Malaysia-Laos clash at the Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh, with another victory for the national squad being the sole objective.
The Terengganu FC II midfielder said a victory over Laos at the SEA Games would avenge his and his teammates’ defeat to Laos in the 2022 AFF U23 Championship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last February.
“We suffered two consecutive defeats to Laos in the AFF Championship. We have nothing left to lose. So, we will play without fear.
“This is also a revenge mission as we were so sad when we were defeated by Laos (in Cambodia). This time around, we will play hard and make them pay,” he told Bernama.
Muhammad Nur Azfar Fikri Azhar turned super sub when he scored a last-gasp goal to help Malaysia beat Thailand 2-1 for a sensational start in Group B of men’s football in the 31st SEA Games three days ago.
During the clash, he was brought in as a substitute with about 10 minutes left in the game and both teams were held to a 1-1 draw, before he netted the winning goal in the dying seconds to give Malaysia a perfect start with the valuable three points.
Thailand now lead Group B with four points from two matches while Cambodia and Malaysia are second and third respectively with three points each after just a match.
Laos and Singapore are fourth and fifth with just one point each after two matches.
After Laos, head coach Brad Maloney’s boys will be playing against Singapore on May 14 and Cambodia on May 16 in their mission to book one of the two slots to the semifinals.
Tomorrow’s match would be the fourth between the U23 squads of Malaysia and Laos in seven months with the latter winning two out of the three matches, namely at the 2022 AFF Championship.
Last October, Malaysia recorded a slim 1-0 win over Laos in the Group J of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with the goal coming from Kaka. - Bernama
