Malaysia 0 Iran 2

MALAYSIA ended their Asian Cup campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Iran.

The three-time champions top Group C as rock bottom Malaysia now ponder their future in football.

Iran had many opportunities to score but was stopped by either Malaysian goalkeeper Azizon Kadir or by the posts. Nevertheless, centre back and captain Khaironnisam Hussain was flagged for roughing Iran's star Ali Karimi in the box giving the Iranians a penalty kick in the 29th minute. Javad Nekounam was spot on with the kick.

Malaysia's goal was once again penetrated as Bolton Wanderers player Andranik Teymourian scored the second goal in the 77th minute.

The Malaysians were very defensive in their play, at times having six players guarding their posts. Despite that, Azizon was still forced to work extra hard.

While everyone is riled up over the dissapointing performances, there are some players worth giving credit while others simply do not deserve to don the new Malaysian jersey.

K.Nanthakumar played well as a defender while V.Thirumurugan- if further groomed- will be influential at the right back and can pose a danger during overlaps.

Aidil Zaquan, although playing his first match against Iran, has a bright future ahead of him.

Rosdi Talib's days are coming to an end and the nation will miss his expertise as he was always on the move unlike the more younger players.

Azizon may not be the best goalkeeper but his agility and good ball reading was seen against Iran. It would be unfair to blame him alone as he had a set of lousy defenders including captain Khaironnisam.

Akhmal Rizal Rakhli was never the country's best striker as proven during the whole Super League with Selangor this season and his performance in the Asian Cup against China.

Coach Norizan Bakar was given the boot by the FA of Malaysia prior the Iran match. Well he doesn't deserve to be the national coach in the first place.

Pic: Shukor Adnan (right) trying to stop Iran's Ali Karimi's run. Iran won 2-0 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium to top Group C. -AFP.

Note: TM need to buck up in their services. They had technical problems in Meru (Selangor) and the whole of Klang Valley for the whole day (July 18) as users were unable to get online. Also, their tmfootballchannel cannot be viewed for over a month.

-The Man Who Sold The World-