KUALA LUMPUR: Safawi Rasid and Shahrel Fikri Fauzi woke up feeling defeated on Sunday in Hanoi, a day after failing to secure the AFF Cup.
The mood in the Malaysian camp was sombre with several players declining to be interviewed.
Vietnam defeated Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate following a 1-0 win in Hanoi on Saturday.
“I am not feeling happy. Everyone saw what happened last night (Saturday),” said Safawi.
“It’s just difficult to take in (the failure). My parents told me not to be too disappointment.
“They want me to be strong. Their words of encouragement have slightly lifted my mood.”
Safawi, who was the recent season’s most valuable M-League player, featured in all eight matches and scored one goal.
Former Nakhon Ratchasima forward Shahrel said he didn’t feel any better after waking up in the morning.
Shahrel, who replaced midfielder Akram Mahinan in the 85th minute, did not score throughout the campaign and only appeared in six of Malaysia’s eight matches.
“I feel sad, it’s like I don’t know how to feel happy again.
“We lost. I don’t know what to say about it because it happened and coach (Tan Cheng Hoe) just told us we did our best,” he said.