Taiwan won a thrilling World Cup qualifying match against Malaysia 3-2 in Taipei yesterday, but it was not enough for the hosts as Malaysia went through to the next round to face Singapore by virtue of away goals, with the aggregate score finishing at 5-5.
The match kicked off in front of the biggest crowd at a soccer match in Taiwan in living memory, with about 10,000 noisy fans at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
Taiwan, knowing they needed to win to progress, started on the front foot and a cross from the left almost fell for Chang Han in the third minute, but he just could not stretch to reach it.
They were made to pay for that miss in the eighth minute when Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak beat Lin Po-cheng from a free-kick from about 30m out.
PRESSURE
Taiwan kept up the pressure on the Malaysia defense, with Chang’s diving header saved by the goalkeeper and Chen Po-liang hitting the wall from a free-kick.
The breakthrough finally came in the 31st minute, when Chang hooked the ball into the net after a scramble in the Malaysia goalmouth.
That lead lasted only nine minutes, though, with Malaysia skipper Safiq Rahim curling in a free-kick from the edge of the area, but Taiwan responded before halftime, with Chen equalizing from the penalty spot after a foul in the area which earned Mahali Jasuli a yellow card.
CRUCIAL SAVE
After the break, Taiwan continued to pressure the Malaysia defense and they earned another penalty in the 62nd minute, but this time Chen’s kick was saved by the goalkeeper.
Just 13 minutes later, Taiwan earned another spot kick and this time Taiwanese-French Mechelen defender Xavier Chen made no mistake on his debut, firing into the top right-hand corner.
Taiwan knew they needed to find a fourth to keep alive their hopes of make it to the Wold Cup, but the nearest they came was Lo Chih-en’s diving header that flew just wide in the 87th minute.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care