MALAYSIA will hold the upper hand when they go into their final Asian Under-19 qualification group match against Thailand today.
While Malaysia thrashed Northern Mariana Islands 10-0 on Friday, Thailand, who thrashed Northern Mariana Islands 21-0 earlier, suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Cambodia.
This has tipped the advantage towards Brad Maloney’s boys in finishing top of Group G.
Malaysia are already leading the group with nine points from three matches. Both Cambodia and Thailand are tied at six points each.
If two teams have the same number of points, the head-to-head between them will be the first deciding factor followed by goal difference.
Regardless of what happens in the Malaysia-Thailand clash, only a 13 goal-win by Cambodia over Brunei will see Malaysia drop to third place.
Maloney said: “The team performed quite well. It was good to get a number of goals to build confidence in the group. Everybody has been performing quite well and we’ll just like to continue on our way.
“Moving forward, our approach will be the same as any other game, where we need to get something out of the game,” Maloney said.
The interim national Under-19 head coach is expected to field his best starting 11 against Thailand after giving several key players like Luqman Hakim a rest against Northern Mariana Islands.
With only a short 48 hours break between the penultimate group match and today’s encounter against Thailand, it’s a wise move by Maloney to recharge the players’ batteries.
A win or a draw against traditional rivals Thailand will see Malaysia finishing top of Group G and earning a direct spot in the 2020 AFC U19 Champioship in Uzbeksistan.