PUTRAJAYA Oct 5, 2026 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has publicly backed Harimau Malaya ahead of today’s third-place playoff against Vietnam in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026.
In a post on X early on 5 October, Anwar wrote: “Selamat maju jaya buat skuad Harimau Malaya dalam perlawanan penentuan tempat ketiga menentang Vietnam. Berjuang dengan penuh semangat dan berikan yang terbaik demi lencana di dada. Rakyat Malaysia bersama kalian.” He added a light note hoping the match would not need lengthy extra time, and attached a team photograph credited to the Malaysia National Football Team’s Facebook page. The post carried the hashtags #YakinMADANI and #HarimauMalaya.
The bronze final is scheduled for 16:00 local time (17:00 WIB) at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Malaysia finished second in Premier Division Group A on seven points, level with hosts Indonesia, but advanced no further after scoring nine goals to Indonesia’s eleven. Vietnam secured the Group B runners-up spot after a 4-2 win over Pakistan and will meet Malaysia following their own 2-0 group-stage defeat to Thailand, who face Indonesia in the final later the same day.
Interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe has urged the side to move past missing the final and treat the Vietnam match as a final chance to end the tournament on a positive note. Malaysia earlier recorded a 0-0 draw with Indonesia and a 6-0 win over Singapore in the group stage. Anwar had already congratulated the team after the Singapore result and called for them to maintain momentum into the third-place match.
The FIFA ASEAN Cup, co-hosted by Indonesia and Hong Kong, is the first edition of the competition organised under a FIFA-ASEAN agreement announced during Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN.
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