The Malaysia Experiment - Noisy Neighbors Part 2

"If nobody do, I better not do.
If everyone do, I die die must do." - SGAG on Singaporean's 'Kiasu/Kiasi' Attitude

We've finally reached this point and I can't believe that we've wrapped up qualifying campaign with a game in hand. The last match is against our noisy neighbor - Singapore (123rd).

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I just had to play my strongest eleven as we've got bragging rights to play for. I might have lost our perfect record at Iraq but I'm very keen on finishing this campaign with an unbeaten run. So far, our results against them have been 3 out of 3 wins, including the away game in this campaign where we won 2-0. :)

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Singapore's defense was really stubborn and it took us 40 minutes to finally crack them. Mohd Shahidan Johan (MC) sent in a long ball over the top and Muhaimin Jamaludin (ST) beat the offside trap. He shot through the legs of Izwan Mahbud (GK) and scores!

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I thought we were done for the half but we were awarded a free kick in the 3rd minute of injury time. Luqman Hussain (AML) whipped it into the penalty box and Abhishek Pannirselvam (DC) volleyed it in. I didn't know he had it in him, but it was a really well taken one. 2-0 for us as we head into halftime.

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Iraq (91st) and Lebanon (100th) are currently on level terms with 2 goals apiece, but the match has little meaning now that even if any one of them wins, they would only manage 14 points, insufficient to qualify as one of the top 4 second-placed teams.

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I made all my substitutions before the hour mark and changed my formation to 4-4-1-1. We were awarded another freekick, on the other side of the pitch so it was Syafiq Hossain's (AMC) turn to take it. It was the same recipient on the other end as my amazing centreback has suddenly transformed into the deadliest striker on earth! Another volley. Another goal.

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The Lions managed to ruin it for us though. We've actually had 7 clean sheets out of 7 matches and we were a quarter of an hour away from a perfect 8 out of 8. The ball was passed around the pitch, side to side, before Shaiful Ayub (DR) sent in an outlandish long ball. Shakir Roslan (DC) was caught napping and Sahil Suhaimi (ST) took full advantage of it. Our impenetrable defense has finally been broken by, of all team, our noisy neighbor - Singapore.

This marks the end of an amazing campaign. Now we have to play the big boys to earn ourselves a spot in FIFA World Cup 2022 in Australia.

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A total of 10 teams are split into 2 groups and we were drawn into Group A together with a few familiar foes. First of all, Japan (51st) who kicked us out of the Asian Cup last year. Then there's Uzbekistan (35th) who we've never beaten as well, and beat us at the third-place playoff in the same tournament. United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan are the two teams that we managed narrow wins against, 1-0 (Asian Cup Quarter Final) and 2-1 (friendly) respectively. Last but not least, Saudi Arabia (70th) who we've never faced before. To be honest, I'm really just happy to be here, but I know I've got to set my sights higher!

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It's becoming a tradition I bring our boys 'traveling' during the summer. It all started in 2017, where we visited Hong Kong and I suffered my first loss. In 2018, we planned for New Zealand and Australia but we had to do it in September instead as June is freezing cold down there. Last year, we flew up north instead to Japan. Initially, we had South Korea as well but it was canceled for the opener in our World Cup Qualifying Second Round against Iraq. This year, Harimau Malaya is heading to the Scandinavia to face Iceland (67th) and Finland (55th) during the summer!

If you enjoyed this entry,
you can follow the story by clicking the link below:
The Malaysia Experiment - Nordic Travels

If you missed out on any of my previous entries,
you can check them out below:

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