Harimau Malaysia fails in revenge mission against Oman

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian football team’s revenge mission against Oman was unsuccessful as the national team succumbed to the 80th-ranked team at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asia Cup qualifiers.

Two goals from Omer Malki and Mohammed Al-Ghafri were enough to compound Harimau Malaya’s suffering after their defeat to the same opponents in Muscat last week with the same scoreline.

Playing in front of 26,499 home fans, Harimau Malaya almost scored the first goal a minute after the match started, but an attempt from Johor Darul Takzim forward Arif Aiman was saved by Oman’s goalkeeper Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini on the goal line.

However, Malaysia’s luck in the first half didn’t last long after Terengganu right back Azam Azmi suffered an injury on his right knee and had to be replaced by Daniel Ting.

Before the first half came to a close, Oman’s marksman Omer Malki scored from the penalty spot, after Malaysian goalkeeper Syihan Azmi brought down his opponent in the penalty box in the closing minute of the first half.

Malaysia made two changes at halftime by bringing in industrious midfielder Brendan Gan to replace Syamer Kutty Abba while Endrick dos Santos came on to replace Darren Lok.

Harimau Malaysia dominated the second half by launching a couple of dangerous attempts towards the opponent’s half, but the efforts were halted by the opposition’s goalkeeper.

And despite Malaysia’s tremendous efforts to find the equaliser, Oman added to Malaysia’s wounds when Al-Ghafri scored the winning goal, allowing his team to take home three full points to Muscat.

The results saw Malaysia sit third behind Kyrgyzstan and Oman in Group D, with six points from four matches. 

Malaysia needs to win in its final two matches against Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei to qualify for the next round of World Cup qualifying. 

The champion and the runners-up of each group will qualify for the next stage of the World Cup qualifiers, and automatically qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. 

Last Friday, Malaysia suffered their first loss in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asia Cup qualifiers after going down 0-2 to Oman at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat. 

Two goals scored in the second half by Oman, through Issam Al Sabhi and Muhsen Al Ghassani in the 58th and 88th minute, courtesy of two lapses in concentration by the defence, was enough to see the host walk out with three points.