YANGON, Nov 26 — Myanmar made the last four of the Suzuki Cup with a 1-0 win over Malaysia that dumped their Southeast Asian rival out of the fiercely contested regional tournament.
Needing only a draw to make the semis, David Htan’s late strike secured all three points to delight the partisan capacity crowd in Yangon’s Thuwanna stadium.
The win leaves them second in Group B behind Vietnam, who beat Cambodia 2-1 in Naypyidaw to go through with a perfect record.
Vietnam will play Indonesia in the final four.
Myanmar will take on Southeast Asian heavyweights Thailand in a two-legged semi-final after the War Elephants cruised through to top group A.
There will be little love lost in the matches between two proud countries with a historic political and sporting rivalry.
Myanmar used to dominate on the football pitch but slumped under the lack of investment of their 50 year junta rule.
Thailand are now the region’s leading side, recently securing a 2-2 home draw with Asia’s best team Australia.
Going into today’s game Myanmar and Malaysia were level on points.
But the home side had a superior goal difference, leaving the visitors with it all to do.
The pressure showed as Malaysia struggled to find form.
The game was shadowed by security fears after a series of small homemade bombs hit Yangon this week. — AFP
