Taiwan midfielder Chen Po-liang scored from close range with 14 minutes left on the clock at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday to hand the visitors a precious away goal in their 2014 World Cup qualifier first-leg 2-1 defeat to Malaysia.
That sets up a potentially thrilling second-leg tie at the Taipei Municipal Stadium at 7pm on Sunday, with Taiwan knowing that a 1-0 win would see them progress to the next round and a two-legged tie against Singapore.
Taiwan coach Lo Chih-tsung said his team would play more offense in the return leg.
Photo: AFP
“We came here to get an away goal. We have accomplished our mission. Taiwan will play attacking football in the return leg,” Lo told the New Straits Times.
Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim was the star for the hosts, scoring one goal and creating another in their 2-1 victory.
Taiwan’s best chance of the first half came in the 12th minute, when a curling free-kick by midfielder Lo Chih-an found striker Chang Han, whose close-range shot was saved by the Malaysia goalkeeper.
Photo: AFP
Safiq scored the opening goal in the 28th minute, the midfielder pouncing on a loose ball and curling home a shot from the right side.
The hosts extended their lead in the 54th minute, when Safiq sent over a corner and Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak outjumped two defenders to nod home.
Malaysia were heading for a comfortable victory, but the visitors silenced the stadium in the 75th minute, when Chen’s shot from just inside the box was enough to beat the goalkeeper.
Malaysia, the current Southeast Asian champions, are trying to reach the second round of qualifying for the first time, having fallen at the first hurdle 10 times since their inaugural campaign in 1974.
Malaysia coach K. Rajagobal was unhappy with his players’ performance.
“We failed to maintain our tempo after taking a 2-0 lead. Our defense allowed Taiwan to hit back with a soft goal. It is going to be tough in the return leg as Taiwan will definitely be more offensive,” Rajagobal told the New Straits Times.
Rajagobal said that striker Mohammed Safee Sali would not play in the return leg.
“He suffered a hard knock in the first half. I don’t think he can recover in time. We face a difficult situation, as I will need to reshuffle my strike force, with Norshahrul [Idlan Talaha] still recovering from injury,” he said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite