JAKARTA, Oct 5 — Malaysia secured third place in the Fifa Asean Cup 2026 after edging Vietnam 1-0 in their third-place playoff at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium here, today.
Substitute Fergus Tierney emerged the hero for Harimau Malaya, scoring the only goal in the 62nd minute to hand interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe’s side a winning finish to their campaign.
Cheng Hoe made three changes to his starting line-up, resting defensive mainstay Brad Tapp and sensational winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi, while captain Dion Cools was unavailable after leaving the national camp due to urgent family matters.
Vietnam looked the more threatening side in the opening half, repeatedly probing Malaysia’s defence with attacking moves and high crosses that kept the backline and goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi busy.
Malaysia, however, came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 39th minute when naturalised striker Bergson da Silva produced a skilful dribbling manoeuvre to beat a Vietnam defender, but his effort was saved by goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang.
Vietnam under head coach Kim Sang-sik responded four minutes later through Nguyen Hai Long, whose close-range free-kick was comfortably gathered by Ahmad Syihan.
In first-half stoppage time, Ngo Dang Khoa tried his luck from outside the penalty area but his effort drifted narrowly wide of Ahmad Syihan’s right post.
Vietnam continued to threaten after the restart, with Williams Minh Hoang firing a low effort narrowly wide of the left post in the 57th minute.
Malaysia responded two minutes later when Bergson beat the offside trap, but his powerful strike went wide of the right post.
However, Tierney made an immediate impact after replacing Bergson, receiving Manuel Hidalgo’s pass before turning sharply and unleashing a powerful shot past Le Giang to give Malaysia the lead.
Ahmad Syihan and the defence then worked tirelessly to protect their lead, including denying Le Pham Thanh Long’s effort in the closing stages to complete the tournament without conceding a single goal.
The victory allowed Malaysia to end the tournament on a positive note after narrowly missing out on a place in the final on goals scored, despite finishing level with hosts Indonesia on points and goal difference in Division 1 Group A.
The victory also ended Malaysia’s more than a decade-long winless run against Vietnam, with their last victory over the regional rivals coming in the second leg of the 2014 AFF Cup semi-finals. — Bernama
