AFC
Doha
Kuwait secured their first-ever win at the AFC U23 Asian Cup after defeating Malaysia 2-1 in their final Qatar 2024 Group D match on Tuesday.
Both teams had already been eliminated prior to the match but the win for Kuwait allowed them to leave on a high while Malaysia go home without a point for the second successive edition.
Malaysia started on the front foot and fashioned two opportunities before the 20-minute mark with Luqman Hakim finding the back of the net only to be judged offside, with Daryl Sham then forcing Kuwait defender Khalid Alfadhli into a block to deny his side footed attempt.
Kuwait withstood the early pressure and started to pose questions to the Malaysian defence as the half wore on with Salman Mohammed’s free-kick after half an hour requiring Malaysian goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel to be sure with his handling of the ball.
A minute before half-time, the tide turned when Sikh Izhan was shown a straight red card after barging into Salman in his attempt to clear the ball.
Things got worse for Malaysia in the 14th minute of added time when referee Alexander King, after a VAR check, awarded Kuwait a penalty for Umar Hakeem’s foul on Talal Alqaisi with Salman converting with ease past substitute custodian Firdaus Irman.
Despite playing with a man down, Malaysia started the second half the brighter of the two sides , using the pass of Haqimi down the right to get behind Kuwait’s defence but Faisal Alshatti made a superb last ditch clearance before the ball reached Mukhairi Ajmal.
Kuwait increased their lead on the hour mark when substitute Sultan Alfaraj, on the pitch for mere seconds, delivered the perfect cross for Alqaisi to thump home.
Malaysia reduced the deficit three minutes later when Nooa Laine sent a long diagonal pass to Haqimi with the Kuala Lumpur City FC forward slamming his low shot past Abdulrahman.
Kuwait’s numerical advantage was taken away in the 84th minute when goalscorer Salman was shown a straight red for a rash challenge on Umar but were able to fend off Malaysia until the final whistle to secure the win.
