By Amar Shah Mohsen
SHAH ALAM, Nov 22 — Malaysia now sit on the perch of Group D of the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers after Kyrgyzstan defeated Oman in their qualifying match last night.
This follows Harimau Malaya's own back-to-back victories in the group, including last night's 1-0 victory away from home against Taiwan, with Darren Lok scoring the winner.
Malaysia won their opening group game 4-3 against Kyrgyzstan on November 16 in a thrilling game which saw the former staged an impressive comeback after going two goals down.
In the match between Kyrgyzstan and Oman, the home country were looking to secure their first victory in the group following their defeat at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.
Oman, on the other hand, were hoping to keep up their momentum after a comfortable 3-0 win against Taiwat in their opening group match.
However, Kyrgyzstan had the last laugh after their midfielder Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov scored the only goal of the game in the 49th minute.
[caption id="attachment_336182" align="alignnone" width="687"]
The national football team in action during their match against Taiwan in the second round 2026/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, at the Taipei Municipal Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 21, 2023. — Picture via TWITTER/FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA[/caption]
The latest results mean Malaysia now have six points from their opening two matches, while Oman and Kyrgyzstan each have three. Taiwan sit bottom of the group after losing both matches.
Harimau Malaya’s impressive performances have not gone unnoticed at the international level, with their victories drawing the attention even of the world football governing body FIFA.
“Back-to-back World Cup Qualifiers’ wins for @FAM_Malaysia,” FIFA World Cup said in a brief tweet.
The qualifying matches will take a temporary break now to make way for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, which begins in January.
Malaysia will then visit Oman for their next qualifying match on March 21, 2024, before hosting them five days later at the national stadium.
