Malaysia lost 0-1 to Bahrain in the second Group E match of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup at Jasim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on the 20th (local time).
Malaysia, which was completely defeated by Jordan 0-4 in the first match, lost to Bahrain, confirming its elimination at the bottom of the group league. In Group E, which includes Malaysia, Jordan and Korea, which tied in the previous match, have already secured four points. Bahrain accumulated three points to rise to third place in the group.
Malaysia has the final group match against Korea. Even if Malaysia beats Korea, it has only three points. If Bahrain loses to Jordan, it will tie with Malaysia. In this case, Bahrain, which won the match between the two teams, will also rank third.
The round of 16 teams in this year's event will be made up of four teams ranking first, second and third in each group. If the two teams have the same points, the teams will be ranked first in the order of goal difference and multiple goals scored in the entire group matches.
On the other hand, Bahrain, which lost to Korea 1-3 in the first round, continued its hope of advancing to the round of 16 by catching Malaysia. If Bahrain beats Jordan in the last group match, it will be able to advance to the round of 16 by itself.
The third round of Group E between Korea-Malaysia and Jordan-Barrain will begin at 8:30 p.m. Korean time on the 25th.
Malaysia, which is ranked 130th in the FIFA rankings, held on to its 86th-ranked Bahrain without allowing even a single goal until right before the closing of the second half. It seemed that the team was about to score its first point at this year's event.
However, Malaysia scored the finishing goal in extra time of the second half. With 10 seconds left before the match, Bahrain had a chance to kick from a right corner. It was effectively the last chance to attack.
When the ball was flowing backward at a competition in front of the goalpost, Ali Madan hit a left foot shot near the penalty arc to send the ball into Malaysia's net. Malaysian players sank as soon as they scored the goal. Meanwhile, Bahraini players cheered as if they had won the title