KUALA LUMPUR: Sports observer Sadek Mustaffa has questioned the football training methods used by the national coaching staff for the Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha.
In a disastrous campaign, Malaysia lost all their group matches, 2-0 to both Uzbekistan and Vietnam, and 2-1 to Kuwait.
The Young Tigers finished bottom of Group D without a point, conceding six goals in three matches and scoring only once.
"It's puzzling to see the players perform poorly and concede penalties in all three matches. I wonder how the coach (Spanird Juan Torres Garrido) prepared the team," said UiTM Sports Science and Recreation senior lecturer Sadek.
"These players clearly aren't accustomed to playing under Video Assistant Referee (VAR) conditions. They might have gotten away with mistakes in the M-League, but at this level, they should have been better prepared, and you can see that their mistakes were spotted by the referee and VAR.
"The players also struggled at higher level after playing in the M-League. This indicates that the M-League needs improvement as it's not competitive enough.
"The mentality of the coaches and the players needs to change. They should learn from Indonesian football. Indonesian teams used to struggle at international level, but now you can see a shift in their mindset and how they carry themselves in matches.
"For this, we need to have good coaches who can elevate the level of our footballers. We cannot have untested coaches using our national teams as stepping stones to pad their coaching CV."
Meanwhile, former international Hasnizam Uzir blamed FAM's lack of decisiveness in dealing with
clubs and state football associations as the reason for Malaysia's poor performance in Doha.
Hasnizam outlined three factors for the national Under-23 squad's failure: lack of competitive development competitions, insufficient local league matches, and inadequate team preparation.
"Young players are crucial for the future. If we don't sow the seeds now, how can we expect results in the future?," he said on X.
"It's pointless to have many players in the grassroots if there is no direction for them. This is the cause of our failures so far because our league (especially the development league) is not competitive and effective.
"When talking about matches and competitions, is that number enough for young players' development and to improve their quality for Malaysia's Under-23?
"FAM needs to think about it, not just set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) without being realistic and practical in organising their competitions. So, top management needs to work more effectively and be firmer in getting their affiliates to work."