Pathum thani: The Harimau Muda are determined to make an impact in the Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers Group F campaign in Pathum Thani, Thailand, from Sept 3 to 9, says head coach Nafuzi Zain. He stated that Malaysia faces a challenging group with hosts Thailand, Mongolia, and Lebanon, but the national U-23 squad is committed to securing a place in the final round, either as group champions or among the best runners-up.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Nafuzi emphasized the strength of the group but expressed the team’s intent to give everything in order to qualify for the final round. He remarked, “This is only my second tournament, so I also hope to deliver a good performance and play quality football. Even though most of our players are young and relatively new, we will do our best to reach the final round.”

Nafuzi further noted that three players, namely defender Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili and forwards Muhammad Aliff Izwan Yuslan and Fergus Tierney, had recently joined the team due to their commitments with clubs in the Super League. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that their late arrival would not affect team cohesion, stating, “They were part of the squad in the previous competition, so I don’t think there will be a problem for them to gel quickly.”

The campaign for Nafuzi’s squad will begin against Lebanon tomorrow, followed by matches against Mongolia on Sept 6 and Thailand on Sept 9, with all games taking place at the Thammasat Stadium. Only the 11 group winners and the four best runners-up will qualify for the finals in Saudi Arabia next January.

The U-23 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers are viewed as an opportunity for redemption for the national side following their disappointing performance in the U-23 ASEAN Cup last July, where they failed to progress beyond the group stage. Malaysia previously qualified for the U-23 Asian Cup in 2022 (Uzbekistan) and 2024 (Qatar), achieving their best result with a quarter-final appearance in 2018 in China.