Vietnam's defeated general aims to win Southeast Asia with a 15-year-old player

Before the semifinal match against Laos, coach Shukor Adan asserted that Malaysia U17 will exert full effort to secure a ticket to the final, despite having the youngest squad in the tournament with some players only 15 years old.

Entering the AFF U17 semifinal against Laos U17 at Gelora Delta Sidoarjo Stadium (Indonesia), coach Shukor Adan clearly demonstrated his determination to lead his team into the final. The Malaysian coach emphasized that the whole team has prepared thoroughly and does not want to let the opportunity slip away, especially when they have advanced to this crucial stage.

According to Hmetro, coach Shukor did not hide his ambition when sharing before the match: “Having reached the semifinals, that is the goal we set for the players and also my goal. After the match against Timor Leste, I also told the players that having come this far, we must do our utmost to win a ticket to the final.” These statements show his strong determination in making Malaysia U17 leave a mark at the tournament.

Notably, despite participating in a U17 tournament, Malaysia's squad is one of the youngest groups. Coach Shukor mainly uses U16 players, and even has two key pillars who are only 15 years old. Nevertheless, he places strong trust in his players' abilities, believing that spirit and motivation will be the key to helping the team overcome challenges.

“I still believe in my players. What we see is that they have very good motivation to secure a place in the final,” Shukor affirmed. At the same time, he also reminded the whole team not to be influenced by past achievements, even though Malaysia won the tournament in 2019.

This coach emphasized: “The last time Malaysia won was in 2019, but for me, the match against Laos is more important. We will go step by step and focus fully on this semifinal.” This clear viewpoint shows he wants the players to maintain absolute focus on the immediate task.

Besides professional factors, Shukor also called for support from domestic fans: “I hope to receive prayers and support from Malaysian fans to energize the players to compete wholeheartedly. Hopefully we can bring Malaysia into the final on April 24.” This is considered an important source of spiritual motivation for the young team.

Malaysia U17 reached the semifinals as the best-performing runner-up in the group stage. After a 0-4 loss to Vietnam, they created a surprise by defeating Indonesia 1-0 and beating Timor Leste 2-0 to earn 6 points. With positive momentum and determination from coach Shukor, Malaysia is aiming for a big goal: overcoming Laos to advance to the final match.