Malaysia extremely confident ahead of final match against Vietnam U17

On the eve of the ASEAN U17 Championship 2026 final, coach Ong Kim Swee - a member of the Malaysia U17 team - shared confident remarks, stating that the players need to enter the match with a fearless spirit when facing Vietnam U17.

The veteran strategist of Malaysian football emphasized that his team has gone through a challenging journey to reach the final match.“We entered the tournament with one of the youngest squads and were placed in the toughest group. After a heavy defeat in the opening match, the players reacted strongly and showed great determination to advance to the semifinals, and now the final,” he shared.

According to coach Ong Kim Swee, reaching the championship match is already a significant step forward, but Malaysia U17 does not want to stop there. “We are just one step away. There is nothing to fear – go onto the field and give your all,” he conveyed to his players.

Meanwhile, head coach Shukor Adan of Malaysia U17 affirmed: “Tactically, we maintain the overall direction, but the approach will be different compared to the first encounter,” he said.

Evaluating the opponent, the captain of the Young Tigers expressed great respect for Vietnam's youth football training system. “From U17 to U23, Vietnam demonstrates that they have a very solid training foundation. This will certainly be a difficult match, but we are ready to embrace the challenge.”

Despite suffering a heavy defeat in the group stage, Malaysia U17 showed a strong transformation by keeping a clean sheet in three consecutive matches to reach the final. “After the initial stumble, the players displayed a very strong spirit. Not conceding a goal in the last three matches is an achievement worthy of pride,” Coach Shukor Adan affirmed.