Singapore opened their AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027 Qualifiers Group E campaign with a sparkling 6-0 win over Guam at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium on Sunday.
However, hosts Malaysia were beaten 0-2 by Palestine in their opening match.
Guam 0-6 Singapore
Caden Pereira caused Guam problems early on, forcing the East Asian side to concede a penalty after being fouled by Ben Quidachay. Pereira converted from the spot in the second minute.
Guam were pinned back in their own half and conceded another penalty two minutes later when Chima Mbakem Jr brought down Ahmad Farid, with the latter sending goalkeeper Noah Dodge the wrong way to make it 2-0.
Another defensive error gifted Singapore their third goal in the 21st minute. Ben Quidachay’s backpass slipped past Dodge, allowing Aidan Irfan to tap the ball into an unguarded net.
Lai Keng Lum then beat two markers before curling the ball into the top-right corner four minutes later before Tyler Tan added another a minute before the half-time whistle after latching onto a long ball into the box, surging past Timothy Dixon and slotting past Dodge from close range.
Singapore extended their lead a minute into the second half after Putera Irfan pounced on a loose backpass, beat the defence and slotted past Dodge to seal the comprehensive victory.
Palestine 2-0 Malaysia
Palestine threatened first in the 16th minute when Taha Soueidan won possession down the right and set up Mohammed Jamhou, whose curling effort from the edge of the box was palmed away by Malaysia goalkeeper Adam Nurfakrullah.
The West Asian side’s positive play paid off a minute later off a set-piece situation when Yazan Khalifah volleyed home Abdelrahman Sharifeh’s free-kick past a rooted Adam.
Sharifeh came close to doubling Palestine’s advantage in the 20th minute after seeing another free-kick skim the top of the bar, with Malaysia responding seconds later but Haziq Shakirin narrowly missed the target after meeting Fazryel Ashraf’s cross from the right.
Fazryel turned provider again three minutes later after finding Fahim Akmal, whose glancing header drifted just wide of the left post.
Palestine began the second half with the same intensity and doubled their advantage in the 51st minute, Yousef Bustami steering Abdelrahman Sharifeh’s corner into the bottom right corner.
Malaysia pushed forward in search of a goal and came close in the 87th minute when Fareez Danial’s powerful header from Fazryel ’s corner was deflected by Palestine goalkeeper Mohammed Abdalkarim, before Nur Azam Muslim sent his effort over the bar following a counter-attack in stoppage time.
The Southeast Asian side were handed a lifeline moments later when Ibrahim Hussein brought Adam Muqri inside the box, but Abdalkarim stood firm to deny Aidil Mukhridz’s spot-kick.
Afghanistan opened their AFC U17 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2027™ Group A campaign with a 4-1 win over Myanmar at the Thuwunna Stadium on Sunday.
In the group’s other fixture, Philippines came back from a goal down to edge Cambodia 2-1.
Afghanistan 4-1 Myanmar
Taib Qaderi opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Mohammad Fahim Hammas doubled Afghanistan’s lead six minutes later.
Hamas struck again in the 23rd minute to give Afghanistan a comfortable cushion at half-time.
Afghanistan stayed dominant with Hamas completing his hat-trick four minutes after the restart, before Thet Naing Oo pulled one back for Myanmar from the penalty spot in the 56th minute.
Cambodia 1-2 Philippines
Kai Fabian Tejok Muller opened the scoring for the Philippines before Long Bich equalised for Cambodia in first half stoppage time.
It was a cagey start to the second half but Muller struck again in the 69th minute to secure the win for the Philippines.
RESULTS
Group A (Yangon)
Cambodia 1-2 Philippines
Afghanistan 4-1 Myanmar
Group B (Buriram)
Hong Kong, China 1-1 Iraq
Maldives 0-5 Chinese Taipei
Group C (Ras Al-Khaimah)
Syria 5-1 Bangladesh
Macau, China 1-0 Bhutan
Group D (Vientiane)
Sri Lanka 1-3 Pakistan
Jordan 2-0 Laos
Group E (Kuala Lumpur)
Guam 0-6 Singapore
Palestine 2-0 Malaysia
Group F (Bishkek)
N. Mariana Islands 0-2 Mongolia
Group G (Salalah)
Bahrain 1-1 Kuwait
Brunei Darussalam 0-7 Lebanon
