DON'T write off the national youth team just yet. The two embarrassing defeats to minnows Laos at the AFF Under-23 Championship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is just a minor setback.
Malaysia were hoping to get their revenge on Monday after their 2-1 defeat to Laos last week.
However, things did not go down well as Brad Maloney's side, who only had 16 available players, were outclassed by the speedy Laotians, losing 2-0, at the Morodok Techo National Stadium.
With the defeat, Malaysia failed to advance to the semi-finals from the two-team Group B.
Indonesia and Myanmar were drawn in the same group but withdrew due to Covid-19 issues.
While Malaysia are hoping to regain their status as among the best in Asia, Laos are aiming to make themselves relevant in Southeast Asian football.
No doubt, it was embarrassing to lose to Laos, but critics should take note that Maloney was without his best players in Phnom Penh.
He left out his stars to test fringe players in the tournament ahead of priority assignments.
The Australian made it clear before his team left for Phnom Penh that he was using the tournament to create more options ahead of the Vietnam Sea Games, the Under-23 Asian Cup and the Hangzhou Asian Games later this year.
To put things into perspective, only two players from the team that held Thailand to a draw at the Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in October last year had started in Monday's defeat to Laos.
It shows that the AFF Under-23 event was just an audition for the fringe players to make a mark.
Among the top youth players who did not play in Phnom Penh were Johor Darul Ta'zim's Arif Aiman Hanapi, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, Nik Akif Syahiran, Harith Haiqal, Ahmad Zikri Khalili and Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi.
While Luqman is based in Belgium at KV Kortrijk, the others are regulars with their clubs in the M-League.
Their inclusions would have definitely turned things around for Malaysia in Phnom Penh.
"As you were aware, from the start, we had the objective to increase our talent pool at this age group.
"I selected many new faces, and about seven of them had no international experience," said Maloney after the match on Monday.
"The others hardly had any international exposure before the tournament.
"I think a couple of them have done well here.
"There could be one or two or three that would definitely be considered in the future. But that's what this is all about... giving the players exposure to increase their ability and experience at the international level."
On Monday's defeat, Maloney said: "As expected, Laos gave us a very tough match.
"Of course, we were chasing for a good result. Again, we dominated in many areas for long periods but failed to score, and that was the difference today (Monday).
"The final result was disappointing. We needed to win to progress, and that was our aim.
"We have to score to win matches. We are definitely lacking in this area, and it's something we have to improve on going forward.
"At the same time, my players did their best in the tournament.
"They had worked tirelessly until the end, and I have to give them credit for that," added Maloney.
The future is definitely not dim for Malaysian football, but the AFF Under-23 event does highlight the fact that the country needs more quality youth players.
It is something for the FA of Malaysia (FAM) to study and evaluate. The national body have to introduce better initiatives to tap quality players for the future.