The 4-0 victory over Laos on the evening of July 28 helped Malaysia extend their winning streak in Group B of the ASEAN Cup 2026. After the match at Kuala Lumpur Stadium, interim coach Tan Cheng Hoe assessed that this result is of great spiritual significance before the team enters the confrontation with Thailand.
As a coach, I am very, very satisfied with this result. We continued to maintain the winning momentum, while regaining the harmony in the whole team," Tan Cheng Hoe said.
The 57-year-old coach believes that 3 points against Laos not only help Malaysia maintain the top spot in Group B but also create more confidence for the players before the away match at Rajamangala Stadium in Thailand.
However, he also emphasized that the team still has many issues to improve.
Certainly, we still have a lot of work to do to improve the team. At the same time, we only have two days left to prepare for the next match against Thailand," he said.
Tan Cheng Hoe admitted that Thailand will be a completely different challenge compared to Laos because the opponent possesses many quality players and also has the home field advantage.
Assessing the victory over Laos, the Malaysian strategist said that the home team encountered many difficulties in the first half when the opponent actively defended in numbers.
He said: "Laos defended very tightly and prevented us from scoring early in the first half.
According to him, the turning point of the match came from the opening goal of captain Paulo Josue at the end of the first half: "Paulo Josue's goal helped the players feel more confident after the break. From there, we played better and scored three more goals to win.
In this match, Paulo Josue opened the score in the 45th minute before Endrick doubled the gap at the beginning of the second half. After that, the Lao team had an own goal and Wan Kuzain sealed a 4-0 victory for Malaysia with a beautiful free kick.
Besides coach Tan Cheng Hoe, the best player of the G match Pavithran also said that the support from his teammates, especially experienced players, helped him play more confidently after contributing two assists.
I hope the whole team will continue to focus to win three more points against Thailand, thereby expanding the opportunity to win a ticket to the semi-finals," coach Tan Cheng Hoe shared.
Meanwhile, Lao national team head coach Vladica Grujic expressed regret that the away team did not take advantage of the opportunities created in the first half.
He said: "If we had better utilized our chances in the first half, the situation in the match might have been different.
He also praised Malaysia when saying that the speed and movements behind the home team's defense continuously created pressure, causing Laos to suffer a four-goal defeat.
With this victory, Malaysia has 6 absolute points after two legs, temporarily leading Group B of ASEAN Cup 2026. Thailand is second with 3 points but has only played one match, while Myanmar also has 3 points after two legs. The Philippines and Laos have not yet won any points.
