KUALA LUMPUR – What is next for the national under-16 football team?
New faces, but the same outcome – that is how one can describe the current state of the national under-16 team, as it has once again failed to show its stripes at the AFF U16 Boys’ Championship.
Malaysia not only failed to qualify for the next round of the tournament but also saw a lower number of points gained in the group stage compared to the previous edition.
Drawn in Group C alongside Thailand, East Timor, and Australia for the 19th edition of the tournament, Malaysia finished with three points, while in the 2022 edition, they finished with five points in a group that featured Myanmar, Cambodia, and Australia, despite also failing to qualify for the next round of the tournament.
After newly appointed head coach Javier Jorda Ribera experimented with 23 new players, mainly from AMD and Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), and assessed 161 candidates from various states and clubs, the national under-16 team’s path to redemption now lies in fighting for a spot in the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia.
However, it is not going to be an easy road for the boys as they will have to face Laos, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon in the 2025 AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled to take place from October 19 to 26.
In a brief message to Scoop, national under-16 manager Christopher Raj, who has held the position since 2021, pledged to step down if his side fails to make it to the finals of the Asian tournament.
“Last year, we managed to qualify for the 2023 Asia Cup tournament. Therefore, it will not be an impossible task for us to achieve similar success.
“However, if the team fails, I will step down and allow someone else to take over the responsibility of lifting the national squad to the highest level and continuing the mission to the World Cup.
“For this year’s AFF, we tried our best but admittedly, there were mistakes on the field that can still be improved in the future.
“It’s not fair if all the criticism is only focused on the players. In reality, they are still young and need constructive criticism to lift their spirits instead of criticism in the form of accusations.
“I take full responsibility for the AFF outing. I promise that the national squad under my management will perform better in the next competition, which is the Asian Cup qualifiers,” said Christopher, who is also part of the Communications and Media Committee of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
The 2023 edition of the AFC U17 Asian Cup saw Malaysia knocked out in the group stage.
For the record, Malaysia last won the AFF U16 Boys’ Championship in 2019, under former head coach P. Maniam and then-manager Datuk S. Sivasundaram, who is also the FAM’s deputy president. – June 30, 2024