What a game! That's what FIFA mentioned in their post about Malaysia's thrilling 4-3 victory over Kyrgyzstan in the World Cup qualifiers. It was an epic and intense match, especially in the final 20 minutes of the second half.
Malaysia initially led 1-0 but soon began to struggle, allowing Kyrgyzstan to score 3 goals, giving them a 2-goal lead. However, through grit and determination, Malaysia turned the tables in their favor, scoring 2 goals to level the playing field. In the last 10 minutes, Faisal Halim scored the fourth goal, with an excellent setup from Arif Aiman. Despite some nerve-wracking moments in the final minutes, Malaysia managed to hold their ground, with a few close calls from the visiting team. Fortunately, those chances were missed, and when the referee blew the final whistle, the crowd erupted in joy!
The national team has shown significant improvement since Kim Pan Gon took over in early 2022. Malaysia, once considered underdogs in Asian football, has climbed from a lowly 170th position in 2019 to the current 137th position. With this win, they have a chance to break into the top 130. Kyrgyzstan, ranked in the 90s, is now ahead of Malaysia.
The last time I celebrated Malaysian football triumph was during our Suzuki Cup victory in 2009. I was in Kelantan at the time, and everyone eagerly awaited Harimau Malaya's matches against tougher opponents like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This victory against Kyrgyzstan had a similar comeback feel, reminiscent of our match against Indonesia where we initially lost but bounced back to triumph in Jakarta's Bung Karno Stadium.
Let's hope that this winning momentum continues in the upcoming matches against Taiwan and Oman.
