<figure id="attachment_3233905" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3233905" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3233905 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2a62ccb8-malaysia-u-23-team-malaysia-nt-pic-121225.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3233905" class="wp-caption-text">In the group stage, Malaysia beat Laos 4-1 but lost 0-2 to Vietnam, who will play the Philippines in the other semi-final. (Malaysia NT pic)</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia edged out Indonesia to qualify for the football semi-finals at the SEA Games in Bangkok, Thailand, after the defending champions failed to beat Myanmar by a three-goal margin, which was needed to reach the last four today.
Indonesia won 3-1 to finish as runner-up in Group C with three points and a goal difference of +1, the same as Malaysia in Group B, which was topped by Vietnam.
However, Malaysia narrowly advanced, having scored a total of four goals compared with Indonesia’s three.
Malaysia now face an uphill task in the semi-final against favourites Thailand, who are known for their strong performance on home soil.
Under this year’s new rules, only the top teams from the three groups advance to the semi-finals, with the final spot awarded to the best-performing runner-up.
In the group stage, Malaysia beat Laos 4-1 but lost 0-2 to Vietnam, who will play the Philippines in the other semi-final.
Malaysia, represented by its U-23 team, last won a SEA Games football gold medal in 2011.

MatchPoint Times

Malaysia scrape into SEA Games football semi-finals

The national U-23 team advances as the best-performing runner-up among the three groups, edging out Indonesia based on the number of goals scored.

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