MALAYSIA were very consistent, as they lost their fifth straight match in the World Cup by going down 5-2 to Spain at the Hague, Netherlands yesterday.
Now, they will play in the 11th-12th classification match, as Spain play in the seventh-eight, while India in the ninth-10th bracket.
Malaysia did not look like they were playing to win, as the defenders kept giving away penalty corners by making silly mistakes in the semi-circle.
A total of six penalty corners were handed to the Spanish in the first half, and in the 13th minute, Gabrial Dabanch finally perfected for the lead.
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin was then handed a sitter, which he cooly slotted in the equaliser in the 24th minute, but there was no drive to take the lead after the goal.
Instead, Spain took a 2-1 lead into the breather when Marc Salles’ powerful drive beat goalkeeper S. Kumar in the 33rd minute.
And just after the re-start, Spain won their seventh penalty corner and Santi Freixa nailed the third goal with a high drive in the 37th minute.
Dabanch then snatched his brace in the 46th minute to hand Spain a sure victory, as Fitri Sari scored off a penalty stroke in the 51st, but Sergi Enrique made it 5-2 in the 68th minute.