Singapore beats Malaysia to enter ASEAN Cup 2024 semi-finals

Thanks to a point earned at Bukit Jalil Stadium on the evening of December 20, Singapore has 7 points after 4 matches, 5 points behind leader Thailand but 2 and 3 points ahead of two direct competitors, host Malaysia and Cambodia, respectively.

The Lion Island team thus entered the semi-finals of the Southeast Asian Championship for the 7th time, after 1998, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2020.

A ticket to the semi-finals was a worthy reward for Singapore after about 100 minutes, including extra time, of intense and brave play against Malaysia.

Due to the disadvantage in points, the home team at Bukit Jalil focused all their efforts on attacking from the beginning of the match and made Singapore falter many times, having to struggle to defend for most of the time.

Statistics for the whole match showed that Malaysia only held the ball 53% of the time, but had 20 shots, including 5 on goal, and 9 corner kicks.

They also tried almost every attacking solution, from going down the wing, crossing the ball to head the ball, coordinating in the middle, shooting from afar and even taking advantage of set pieces, but could not make a difference.

However, in a somewhat unlucky evening, Haqimi Adil, Daniel Ting, Stuart Wilkin, Endrick either missed the target or could not beat Singapore goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud.

In the middle of the second half, in two situations where Malaysia took advantage of corner kicks and aerial duels to defeat the 34-year-old goalkeeper, Paulo Josue and Harith Haiqal respectively headed the ball against the crossbar.

In addition to luck, Singapore also succeeded in choosing a safe tactic. They almost only defended in the first half, and performed their duties perfectly under the command of experienced center-back Safuwan Baharudin.

In the second half, when Malaysia decided to push their squad higher, coach Tsutomu Ogura brought Shawal Anuar - the main striker who had scored 4 goals since the beginning of the tournament - onto the field to take advantage of his speed, exploiting the gaps behind the home team's defense.

The tactic almost worked towards the end of the match, and Singapore could have won, if not for Malaysian goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli's concentration and excellent positioning to deny Ryhan Stewart twice in a row in the second minute of stoppage time.

Singapore's opponent in the semi-finals will be the winner of Group B, determined in the final match today, December 21. Vietnam is currently leading this group with 7 points and only needs to avoid losing when hosting Myanmar at Viet Tri Stadium, Phu Tho to secure their position.