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YOUNG TIGERS CLEAR EGYPT HURDLE WITH LUKEWARM PERFORMANCE

Malaysia eked out a 4-1 victory over Egypt in the 9-16th classification match in the Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup 2023 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
The Young Tigers will now go into a showdown with the winner of the Belgium-Canada match in the 9-12th classification match on Wednesday. The Belgians, who won the bronze medal at the EuroHockey Junior Championships 2022 and are ranked 5th in the FIH Junior World Rankings, are favourites to win against the Canadians.“I am happy we cleared this hurdle against Egypt and now play either Belgium or Canada in the 9-12th classification. But I am confident Belgian will win the match. Should we meet Belgium, it is definitely going to be a tough game. Overall, I am not happy with our performance against Egypt. There were many mistakes. Our defensive structure and finishing were not good,” said Amin.

“We had 16 penalty corners and scored from three. That is a very poor conversion rate. We created many circle entries and penalty corners, but if we are to play the Belgians, we may not get that many opportunities. In the next one day, we have to study the Belgians’ attacking and defensive mode.
“Belgium came from a tough pool D that includes Pakistan, Netherlands, and New Zealand. They may be demoralized after failing to qualify for the quarterfinals, and we must take this situation to our advantage and turn the tables on them. The last time we played Belgium was in the 2021 JWC in India and drew 1-1,” said Amin, adding that the Belgians are very skillful and physically stronger than the Malaysians.
The Malaysian team singing the national anthem before playing Egypt

The Young Tigers took the lead through Osman Harris from a field goal in the eight minute, and team captain Faris Harizan converted a penalty corner in the 16th minute. Mohamad Danish Aiman netted the third goal (44th minute), and Che Nur Aqirullah made it 4-0 (50th) through penalty corner conversions.
Basel Abdel Monem replied for Egypt in the 59th minute.
The Malaysians last played against the Egyptians at the 2016 JWC in Lucknow, India, and pulled off a 2-1 win in a Pool B match. Also, at the 2009 Kuala Lumpur JWC event the teams drew 2-2.