Phnom Penh: The curtain raiser of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 will see Cambodia host 2010 champions Malaysia in Group A at the National Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
Malaysia will be one of the favourites to make it out of the group and have already tasted success in the Pestabola Merdeka in September after defeating the Philippines and Lebanon to win the title.
Earlier this year, the Harimau Malaya secured one of their most famous results in recent memory when Romel Morales scored deep into stoppage time for a 3-3 draw against continental heavyweights Korea Republic at the AFC Asian Cup.
Morales along with the likes of Arif Aiman, Dion Cools and Safawi Rasid will be amongst the big names that will not be a part of the upcoming tournament as Malaysia are bringing a largely young squad with Dominic Tan, Syamer Kutty Abba and Syafiq Ahmad set to captain the side.
The Harimau Malaya’s current form has seen them beat Laos and draw away to India in their most recent matches in the buildup to the tournament, under the tutelage of Spaniard Pau Marti Vicente who took over after the departure of Kim Pan-gon in July.
Marti Vicente, who has been Malaysia’s assistant coach since 2022, caused a surprise on Thursday night when he announced that the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ 2024 would be his final tournament as head coach following the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) decision to restructure the national team management set-up.
On the other hand, Cambodia are targeting a first-ever knockout stage berth in the tournament in what will be their 10th group stage appearance having become one of the most improved Southeast Asian nations in recent times.
Koji Gyotoku is the Koupreys’ new man in charge having been appointed as their caretaker head coach in September after their failure to reach the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Sri Lanka.
Cambodia defeated Chinese Taipei 3-2 in the buildup to the tournament with PKR Svay Rieng FC midfielder Min Ratanak scoring a brace, before they travelled to Qatar to undergo an intensive training camp for the tournament.
After an impressive campaign in 2022, when Cambodia defeated the Philippines and Brunei DS,their fans will now be hoping that they can finally break the glass ceiling and reach the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup™ knockout stage for the first time this year.
Cambodia vs Malaysia
Venue: National Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh
Kick-off: 8 December, 5:45 PM (Local Time)
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