Malaysia eliminated from ASEAN Cup 2026 after 0-2 home loss to Vietnam
Malaysia crashed out of the ASEAN Cup 2026 after a 0-2 home defeat to Vietnam in the first-leg semi-final at Kuala Lumpur’s Cheras Stadium on Sunday night.
Source: Astro Awani · August 16, 2026 at 7:23 PM · AI-assisted report
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HANOI, 17 AUGUST 2026 —
Malaysia crashed out of the ASEAN Cup 2026 after a 0-2 home defeat to Vietnam in the first-leg semi-final at Kuala Lumpur’s Cheras Stadium on Sunday night.
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The hosts, coached by interim manager Tan Cheng Hoe, had chances early but Vietnam broke the deadlock in added time at the end of the first half. Nguyen Xuan Son rose to head in Truong Tien Anh’s cross in the fifth minute of stoppage time to make it 1-0 at the interval.
Vietnam nearly doubled their lead within 60 seconds of the restart when Nguyen Tai Loc’s effort was turned away by Malaysia goalkeeper Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani, but substitute Ahmad Aysar Hadi Mohd Shapri blocked Xuan Son’s follow-up.
A red card shown to Vietnam’s Patrik for a tackle on Mohamadou Sumareh was overturned after a VAR review. Azri kept out another Xuan Son header before Pham Xuan Manh’s glancing header, set up by Tien Anh, beat him in the 77th minute to make it 2-0.
Malaysia’s misery deepened in the 86th minute when Muhammad Faris Danish Asrul deflected Nguyen Quang Hai’s cross into his own net.
Faris nearly halved the deficit in stoppage time when his curling effort was pushed away by Patrik, but the result was already decided. Malaysia, ASEAN Cup winners in 2010, now face a daunting task to overturn the deficit in the return leg in Hanoi on Wednesday.
Related: Hanoi