HARIMAU MUDA’S SEA GAMES 2025 JOURNEY COULD BE TURNED INTO A BOOK – MOHD NAFUZI

From Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

BANGKOK, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- National Under-23 (U-23) football squad head coach Mohd Nafuzi Zain described Malaysia’s journey at the SEA Games Thailand 2025 as a struggle filled with twists and sacrifices that deserves pride.

Mohd Nafuzi said that from the early stages of preparation, the team faced various challenges, including players not being released by their clubs, a shortage of players, suspensions and injuries.

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“If we were to tell the story of this SEA Games, I think from the start of preparations until now, we could make a book about the twists and turns of this team’s journey. We never had enough players — some came in, some left, some were suspended, some were injured.

“Right until the end, it felt like we were at war, with players on crutches, shoulders bandaged. All that represents sacrifice and a struggle for the country that I think we should be proud of,” he said when met after the third-place playoff match at the Rajamangala National Stadium here today.

In the clash against the Philippines, the Harimau Muda squad recorded a 2-1 victory to clinch the bronze medal, ending Malaysia’s eight-year medal drought in the men’s football event at the SEA Games.

In the match, the national squad opened the scoring in the 28th minute through Danish Hakimi Sahaludin before the Philippines equalised via an own goal by Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli in the 36th minute. However, the same player redeemed himself by netting the winning goal in the 43rd minute.

The success saw Harimau Muda return to the podium for the first time since winning silver at the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur, making amends for their disappointment of exiting without a medal in the previous three editions.

Elaborating further, Mohd Nafuzi said the players displayed strong camaraderie in dealing with the squad’s limitations throughout the campaign here.

“I am extremely proud of them because the fighting spirit shown was very high in terms of teamwork and bonding like a family. Even though we were short of players, that was what enabled us to help one another,” said the 45-year-old coach.

Malaysia were eliminated at the group stage in the 2019 edition in the Philippines and the 2023 edition in Cambodia.

At the 2021 edition in Vietnam, the national team’s hopes of bringing home a medal were dashed after being held 1-1 by Indonesia in the third-place playoff, before losing 4-3 on penalties.

-- BERNAMA