In the VS Malaysia matchup, to everyone's surprise, the opponents had almost sealed the win. With nearly 60% possession, they were impressive against 5 shots from the edge of our penalty area. But this was not a match against a strong Japanese or Korean opponent, it was a battle between the teams of China and Malaysia.
Even the reputation of the opponents could not be turned around. Against Malaysia's unfamiliar performances and scores, hopes became slim and the future seemed dim.
The difference between reality and imagination is staggering.
"How can Malaysia win?" This is the question on the minds of many green fans. But the imagined picture was far from the actual battlefield. Apart from the close statistics, we did not have the upper hand in the game.
At the beginning of the match, Malaysia played to its strengths on the sides, constantly creating breakthrough opportunities, and firmly locking down our backs and center backs through the pressure of the centers and the forward line. This strategy has been tried and tested time and again, and the goal in the 6th minute is proof of this.
Although the Olympics didn't have an effective strategy to deal with the situation, fortunately, they adopted a similar tactic, which could be described as "half a catty". Liu Zhurun's performance on the sidewalks was on par with his opponent's, but his shots were too sloppy and failed to pose a threat.
Both sides tried to create space on the wings, but Malaysia's individual ability was much better, especially with massive advances from one side to the other, and individual skills of distribution, passing, carrying and shooting that were both amazing and frightening.
Towards the end of the first half, the Olympics were briefly overwhelmed but were unable to convert their chances into goals. In the second half, both sides started the game with a strong sense of purpose and an empty midfield, but both seemed to have some "rough" attributes that prevented them from converting their chances into goals, so the score remained 0-0 until the end of the game.
From the 75th minute onwards, the physical problems of the Olympics became apparent and it became a classic script of "passing on" to the big brother. Against the Malaysian Olympic team, we could not keep up the pace. In the 80th minute, Malaysia counter-attacked and almost broke through. In the 85th minute, they almost scored with a low shot from the penalty area, and in the 95th minute, the killer came.
The autonomous slackness of the Olympics gave Malaysia great confidence to realize that they could really beat the Olympics and even China. After this battle, the last three confrontations between the two sides have resulted in 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss for the Olympics. Why is Malaysia afraid of us?
Their own decline has given confidence to their opponents, so much so that even Malaysia no longer fears the national football team. How do we face opponents like Syria, Iraq and Vietnam (including Thailand and Malaysia)? How do we fight for 3.5 places out of nearly 9 teams (Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran are virtually guaranteed to qualify) in the expanded World Qualifiers? The youth teams have given the "answer" and they couldn't beat Malaysia. Is this the future we've all been waiting for? Does this mean that getting to the World Cup after 2026 will be a lot easier?
