AFC U-19 Championship: Saudi Arabia breeze past Malaysia

Day three of the AFC under-19 Championship saw title favorites Saudi Arabia getting past a listless Malaysia. Meanwhile, Tajikistan secured three points with a solitary goal victory over China.

Group D: Saudi Arabia defeat Malaysia 2-1

(KSA - Turki Al-Ammar 24’, Salem Al Saleem 78’; MAS - Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh 88’)

Saudi coach Khaled Abdullah Mohammed would have expected more goals from his wards after dominating their opening game against Malaysia. Starting the match with a 4-4-2 formation, they quickly switched to a 2-4-2-2 formation with Muhannad Al-Shanqiti moving into a left wing role and Saud Abdulhamid taking control of the midfield. Turki Al-Ammar and Khalid Al-Ghannam were probing forward regularly attacking the Malaysian goalpost.

Having had 67% ball possession during the entire match, and winning 68% of the aerial duels, Saudi Arabia had an astonishing 78% passing accuracy which helped in thumping 20 shots on the Malaysian goal with twelve finding the target.

Malaysia, who started with a 4-4-2, quickly moved to a 4-2-4 formation with Muhammad Izreen Izwandy and Muhammad Nurfais Bin Johari taking up the role of attacking wingers. But unfortunately, they only had seven shots of which one was on target.

A long pass from Hassan Al Tambakti found the head of the Malaysian midfielder Zahril Zabri which fell towards the center of the Malaysian penalty area. Turki Al Ammar sprung past the Malaysian defense and forced the goalkeeper to commit, going around him to strike it into an empty net.

An offside in the 27th minute meant the goal of Al Ammar was disallowed. In the 31st minute, Saudi Arabia earned a penalty after Muhammad Anwar Ibrahim handled the ball during a sliding tackle. The resultant penalty by Turki Al-Ammar was saved brilliantly by a diving Azri Ghani to keep Malaysia in the hunt. The impressive Malaysian shot-stopper made a total of nine saves in the game.

A clinical finish from Salem Al Saleem after a 1-2 with Abdulmohsen Al Qahtani's found the bottom left corner of the net giving a two-goal cushion for the Saudis.

Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh kisses the ball after scoring a goal against Saudi Arabia (Image Courtesy: AFC)

Malaysia registered their only shot on target when Muhammad Hadi Fayyadh knocked the ball in after Shivan Pillay's initial effort hit the post following a set-piece. Malaysian coach Bojan Hodak would have plenty of work to do in finding a way to threaten the opposition goal which was missing in the game against the Saudis