WIN OVER NEPAL CAPS A FRUITFUL YEAR FOR HARIMAU MALAYA - CKLAMOVSKI

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 (Bernama) – Malaysia's 1-0 victory over Nepal in their fifth Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers tonight capped a beautiful ending to the year 2025 for the Harimau Malaya squad on home turf.

The national squad's head coach Peter Cklamovski said the success of maintaining an undefeated record and continuing to top the group standings in the Asian Cup qualifiers was the result of the cooperation and commitment of all the coaching staff and players.

"I’m really proud of the team... We want to score more goals but in the end we finish the 2025 undefeated and top of the group... hope Malaysian fans give their full support," he told reporters at a press conference after the match today.

Cklamovski, however, reminded his players to rest briefly and remain focused on facing the last match against Vietnam away from home next March.

"But still we are going to review the game and all and focus on the last game against Vietnam next year," he said.

Meanwhile, Nepal head coach, Hari Khadka, accepted the defeat while describing the Harimau Malaya as displaying high-quality play in the match.

“Malaysia is a very good team and difficult to beat because they played well and managed to contain every attack we launched.

“We tried to keep the pressure on, but the Malaysian players showed great discipline in closing every space available. This is something we need to learn,” he said.

The victory over Nepal sees the national team maintain an undefeated record after five matches to lead Group F with 15 points, followed by Vietnam in second place (nine points), Laos third (three points), and Nepal at the bottom without any points.

Vietnam and Laos have played a match less.

-- BERNAMA