KUALA LUMPUR – Harimau Malaya succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Oman in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifier at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium tonight.
This loss also marks Malaysia’s second consecutive defeat in the qualifiers against Oman in less than a week after losing to them with the same score on March 22 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman.
Harimau Malaya, led by Kim Pan-gon, issued an early warning to the Gulf Samba as winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi tested Oman’s defence with a direct shot following a sprint on the right flank, only to be blocked by goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini in the 55th second of the match.
The 21-year-old Johor Darul Ta’zim winger kept causing problems for the world number 80-ranked opponents with his explosive runs and nearly finding attacker Romel Morales on several occasions in the opening five minutes of the match.
Oman, under newly appointed coach Juroslav Silhavy, dominated the midfield through the pairing of Salaah Al Yahyaei and Harib Al Saabi, where they kept finding their strikers with several through passes, forcing Harimau Malaya goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi to make several important saves.
Defender Azam Azmi, who made his 11th appearance for Harimau Malaya, was forced to be substituted by Daniel Ting in the 24th minute after he accidentally kicked the broken patch of the pitch following a challenge by Oman’s Jameel Al Yahmadi.
The bumpy pitch surface proved to be costly for Harimau Malaya, with goalkeeper Syihan receiving the first yellow card of the match after he was forced to foul Oman striker Omer Al-Malki in the penalty box in the 43rd minute of the match, resulting in the match referee awarding Oman a penalty kick.
Omer, who plays for Al-Nahda FC in his home country, coolly slotted the penalty, beating Syihan to his top left corner, thus scoring his fifth goal for his country and his second in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign.
Stunned by the goal, Malaysia quickly moved into action and responded positively in search of an equaliser in the second half, but lady luck failed to smile on Harimau Malaya, when defender Daniel Ting’s header from a Faisal Halim crossbar rocked the side in the 51st minute.
With 40 minutes remaining on the clock, Pan-gon threw his last dice by bringing on Endrik Dos Santos, Brendan Gan, Paulo Josue, and Muhammad Akhyar Abdul Rashid.
The changes seemed to work as Malaysia kept pressing forward and managed to nearly find the net in the 88th minute through Corbin Ong, whose shot was blocked by Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim.
Corbin was later challenged in the box by defender Ali Sulaiman in the 90th minute of the match but was not awarded a penalty by the referee.
The match, which saw seven minutes of additional time given, saw Oman hammer the final nail through Mohammed Mubarak Al Ghafri, as he made the score 2-0 with a follow-up after Harib Al Saadi’s shot was blocked by Syihan.
The match at the national stadium saw a total of 26,499 fans attending.
Malaysia currently are placed third in Group D of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifier after today’s defeat, with six points. – March 27, 2024