PHNOM PENH, May 4 — Malaysia cannot breathe a sigh of relief yet despite recording a stylish victory after thrashing Laos 5-1 in the Group B match of the 2023 SEA Games at the Prince Stadium here, last night.

National Under-22 (U-22) squad head coach E. Elavarasan said this is because the big win cannot serve as a backup when his men play against Thailand which is among the favourites, in the second match.

According to him who is also the assistant head coach of the national senior squad, the 5-1 result also seems to have no meaning if his team fails to bring home a point against the squad coached by Issara Sritaro this Saturday.

"Actually, 5-1 victory is nothing big when we play Thailand. If we lose, what is the advantage of those five goals? Nothing...if the result is good against Thailand then goal advantage will help.

"So we are happy with tonight’s victory and we prepared for the next game, nothing is guaranteed for the future for all teams, it is only a sign showing the team is not bad,” he said at the press conference after the match against Laos.

Fully aware that some fans have started to build high hopes following the victory, Elavarasan said that all parties need to be realistic considering that Thailand is one of the teams that made better preparation, apart from defending champions Vietnam who were also drawn in the same group.

"For the supporters, I would like to say thank you but on the other hand we need to realise that Thailand is a better-prepared team, and we must understand that Vietnam is also a better-prepared team.

"When we play against Thailand then we will know whether we can put up against the superiority of Thailand and Vietnam, for now, it is difficult for me to say but of course, we are excited to face them and can always learn something,” he said.

However, he was satisfied with his players’ determination to clinch their first victory against Laos, describing it as a good start in their mission to qualify for the finals as the team was facing time constraints in preparing for the tournament.

Elavarasan admitted that he did not expect a big win against the squad under Michael Weiss, but saw it as a sign of progress for the players to understand the importance of perfecting every scoring opportunity.

Malaysia and Thailand, who have just played one game, each took three points in second and third place in Group B while Singapore and Laos are at the bottom after failing to collect points in the first two games.

Vietnam leads the group with six points after recording two consecutive wins. — Bernama