Looking back at when Indian football team last faced Malaysia

Manolo Marquez will look to bring some changes to India’s squad.

The Indian football team will play their final match of 2024 when they host Malaysia in an international friendly on 19 November 2024. It’ll be their fourth match under Manolo Marquez and the Blue Tigers will be desperately looking to get their first victory under the new gaffer after the encouraging second-half display in the recent 1-1 draw against Vietnam.

But Malaysia will not be any pushovers at all. The Harimau Malaya might be six places behind India in the FIFA World Rankings, but they are quite the energetic side that can torment any opposition backline if given too much room.

Unlike India, the Malaysian football team has also won four competitive international matches in 2024. They even held the Kyrgyz Republic to a draw in the AFC Asian Cup at the start of the year. Malaysia defeated the Philippines and Lebanon sides at the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September and could be an intimidating threat for India.

What happened in India’s last meeting with Malaysia?

It’s not even been that long since the two sides butted heads against each other in a memorable international match. The last time that India faced Malaysia was in the 2023 Merdeka Tournament when they were paired against each other in the semi-finals on 13 October 2023.

It turned out to be quite a chaotic and controversial match, with both teams taking an attack-first approach to entertain the crowd in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia, with the home crowd behind them, began the game in blistering fashion by taking an all-out attack approach to put India under pressure from the get-go.

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That turned out to be fruitful for the Harimau Malaya in the seventh minute, as a smart set-piece routine and some sloppy defending allowed Dion-Johan Chai Cools to score a volley from close range and put his side into the lead. But India were not to be any pushovers on the day.

Igor Stimac’s side went on the attack after that and got the equalizer in the 13th minute after a well-orchestrated move. A cross from the right wing was flicked on by Manvir Singh and found its way to Naorem Mahesh Singh, who unleashed a powerful strike onto the top of the net to silence the home crowd.

But it was Malaysia who kept pushing for more and they were rather fortunate to receive a penalty seven minutes later when Nikhil Poojary brought down a player in the box. Arif Aiman Hanapi scored the penalty with grace to put his side back into the lead.

The Harimau Malaya dominated the majority of the first half and were smart enough to capitalize on India’s defensive errors. In the 42nd minute, Muhammad Faisal cleverly outwitted Mehtab Singh to swing past him and rifled a shot past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to give his side a commanding 3-1 lead.

The Goal-Line Controversy

Igor Stimac gave an inspired team talk to his Indian players at half-time, and they came out flying on all cylinders after the break. India were fearless with their attacking moves and by using clever link-up play and movement through the wings pulled one back in the 52nd minute. A cross from the left found its way to Lallianzuala Chhangte in the box and he laid it off for an easy finish for Sunil Chhetri to make it 3-2.

India almost got the equalizer four minutes after that but were robbed by some major controversy. It was Chhangte again who somehow managed to wiggle his way into the box before getting a clever shot past the Malaysia goalkeeper.

The ball seemingly went over the net before it was cleared away by the defenders and it was even visible to those watching on Television. But the referees failed to notice it and despite a lot of protest from Chhetri and co, India were not given what looked like a clear goal.

This disrupted the players’ momentum and made them lose their cool, allowing Malaysia to take back control. La’Vere Corbin-Ong finished off a slick attacking move in the 61st minute to seal the win for Malaysia. India tried to attack after that, but most of the players were exhausted and couldn’t mount a comeback.

India will hope to get their revenge on Malaysia in the upcoming international friendly for that controversial loss last year. With the Blue Tigers yet to win a competitive match in 2024, Manolo Marquez will push them to get the three points to improve their standing in the FIFA World Rankings and also end a dismal year on a positive note.

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