MALAYSIA beat Bangladesh 8-0 to finish fifth in the Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan yesterday.
It was a lopsided match from the start, as Malaysia took a 3-0 lead at half-time and never let Bangladesh back into the match.
Even though Malaysia failed to qualify for the Junior World Cup next year, they still showed some determination to beat China 5-1 in the seventh-eighth classification, and then Bangladesh by a big margin.
Sufi Ismat scored a brace in the second and sixth minutes, while Haziq Samsul also nailed a hat-trick in the 30th, 44th and 66th minutes.
The other goals were scored by Najmi Jazlan (56th, 58th) and Azwar Rahman (56th).
"Even though we failed to qualify for the World Cup, these players still deserve praise because its not east to wake up from such a disaster to beat China and Bangladesh by big margins in the lower classification," said coach Arul Selvaraj.
Seniors coach Stephen van Huizen, who is in Kuantan to watch the matches, will select seven players from the juniors squad to train with him.
Three players who have played with the seniors before in many international tournaments Shahril Saabah, Meor Hassan and Haziq Samsul are among the seven.
"I will select seven, including the three that have played with the seniors before because there are many talented players in the juniors side, and its unfortunate that they did not qualify for the Junior World Cup," said Van Huizen.
The seniors are in training for the Azlan Shah Cup next April, where teams like Germany and Netherlands have been invites. Defending champions New Zealand, silver medallists Australia, India, England and Japan are the other teams that have been invited for the Silver Jubilee of the Cup.
RESULTS: Seventh-Eighth: China 7 Oman 2; Fifth-Sixth: Malaysia 8 Bangladesh 0; Third-Fourth: Japan x South Korea x; Final: India x South Korea x.