02/04/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | APR 2, 2026

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Defiant Cklamovski Harimau Malaya deserve to qualify despite Vietnam defeat, says coach

RESULTS & GROUPING

FORMER England U-21 interna tional Axel Tuanzebe basked in the adulation of one of Africa’s largest nations yesterday after his goal in extra-time against Jamaica put the Democratic Republic of Congo into the World Cup. The centreback kneed the ball home in their inter-confederation playoff final to book a first World Cup place for the Congolese since they appeared at the 1974 tournament when the country was still known as Zaire. “To get the winning goal for the country, this is what, as a young boy, you dream about,” said Tuanzebe. “It’s happened for me, and I’m so very happy. I’m so proud of what I could do for my country.” Tuanzebe is Congolese-born but moved with his family to Britain as a five-year-old. He joined Manchester United aged eight and was included in the first-team squad when only 17. A member of England’s junior sides, he was released by Manchester United in 2023 and went to Ipswich Town in the Equatorial Guinea 1 Madagascar 1, Australia 5 Curacao 1, Kazakhstan 1 Comoros 0, Botswana 1 Malawi 0, Iran 5 Costa Rica 0, Niger 0 Togo 1, Liberia 2 Libya 2, San Marino 0 Andorra 0, Norway 0 Switzerland 0, Serbia 2 Saudi Arabia 1, Montenegro 2 Slovenia 3, Russia 0 Mali 0, Hungary 0 Greece, Jordan 2 Nigeria 2, South Africa 1 Panama 2, Haiti 1 Iceland 1, Morocco 2 Paraguay 1, Guinea 0 Benin 1, Peru 2 Honduras 2, Ivory Coast 1 Scot land 0, Algeria 0 Uruguay 0, Netherlands 1 Ecuador 1, Ukraine 1 Albania 0, England 0 Japan 1, Wales 1 Northern Ireland 1, Austria 1 South Korea 0, Republic of Ireland 0 North Macedonia 0, Slovakia 2 Romania 0, Senegal 3 Gambia 1, Spain 0 Egypt 0, Burkina Faso 1 Guinea-Bissau 1, United States 0 Portugal 2, Argentina 5 Zambia 0, Brazil 3 Croatia 1, Mexico 1 Belgium 1, Canada 0 Tunisia 0. WORLD CUP (Playoff finals) Bosnia-Hercegovina 1 (Tabakovic 79) Italy 1 (Kean 15) aet – Bosnia win 4-1 on pen , Sweden 3 (Elanga 20, Lagerbielke 44, Gyokeres 88) Poland 2 (Zalewski 33, Swid erski 55) , Kosovo 0 Turkey 1 (Akturkoglu 53) , Czech Republic 2 (Sulc 3, Krejci 100) Denmark 2 (Andersen 72, Hogh 111) aet – Czech Rep win 3-1 on pen , DR Congo 1 (Tuanzebe 100) Jamaica 0 aet, Iraq 2 (Ali 10, Aymen 53) Bolivia 1 (Paniagua 38) . WORLD CUP GROUPS Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic. Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Hercego vina, Qatar, Switzerland. Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland. Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey. Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador. Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia. Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand. Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay. Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway. Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan. Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia. Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama. INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

H ARIMAU MALAYA head coach Peter Cklamovski remained proud of the fighting spirit shown by the national team despite their 1-3 defeat to Vietnam in their final Group F match of the Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers at Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh on Tuesday night. Cklamovski said that, overall, based on per formances on the pitch, Malaysia deserved to qualify on merit but admitted that off-field fac tors had ultimately affected the team’s chances. “On merit, on the field, we deserve to qualify. However, off the field is where we’ve been hurt. So when you put that into the equation of how the players feel, how they fight, and how they performed tonight away from home in front of a sell-out crowd, I couldn’t be prouder of them. “They did it for themselves, their families, for the nation of Malaysia and they did it for the next generation. They are truly an inspiration for Malaysia,” he told the post-match press confer ence. In Tuesday night’s’ encounter, goals from captain Do Duy Manh and a brace by natural ised forward Nguyen Xuan Son put the hosts in control before substitute Endrick Dos Santos scored from a penalty for Malaysia. Reflecting on the match, Cklamovski said his

side showed encouraging attacking intent, par ticularly in the first half, but failed to capitalise on key chances. “In the first half, I thought after conceding early, there was a great response from our play ers. We created some really good moments and had opportunities to bring the game back to 1-1. “That would have been a game-changing moment, but credit to Vietnam because they took their chances. Their big Brazilian made a match-defining impact and finished well. “We had four or five really good chances to put the ball in the back of the net, and these are the moments that change football games,” the Australian tactician said. The hosts opened the scoring in the sixth minute through a powerful header by Duy Manh, who converted from a corner taken by Truong Tien Anh. Harimau Malaya had a chance to equalise in the 10th minute but Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim’s attempted chip, following a setup by Paulo Josue, went off target. Vietnam nearly doubled their lead in the 24th minute when a long-range strike by Nguyen Hoang Duc rattled the crossbar, with national goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi beaten. However, Ahmad Syihan came to the rescue

with a crucial touch to deny Do Hoang Hen’s effort inside the penalty box in the 32nd minute, as the score remained 0-1 at halftime. Vietnam got their second goal through a header by naturalised striker Xuan Son, who met a cross from Hoang Hen in the 51st minute. Xuan Son struck again when he was left unmarked in the penalty area to head home a cross from Tien Anh in the 59th minute, putting Kim Sang Sik’s men comfortably ahead at 3-0. Malaysia pulled one back via a penalty con verted by substitute Dos Santos in the 77th minute, but were forced to accept defeat, extending their winless run against Vietnam away from home since 2014. After six matches, Vietnam, who have qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Finals, collected 18 points, followed by Malaysia in second place (9pts), Laos in third (6pts) and Nepal at the bottom (3pts). Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup Finals on merit for a second consecutive time were dashed after being handed a points deduction by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Recently, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee found that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had breached Article 56 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code for fielding ineligible players in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam last year. – AFP

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Players from Malaysia and Vietnam in

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action during the Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers at Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh on Tuesday night. – BERNAMAPIC

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Tuanzebe shines for Congo as they qualify for WC

Championship.

Congo, who will play in Group K at the finals with Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan, made overtures for him to play at the Africa Cup of Nations in early 2024 but he only switched alle giance at the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. “My dad has been with me all the way and is here,” said Tuanzebe, pointing at the stands at the Estadio Guadalajara. “My brother too,” added the defender, who moved to Burnley at the start of the season. With a population of almost 110 million DR Congo is one of the continent’s most populous countries, but the majority of its team is made up of players from an extensive diaspora across Europe, who coach Sebastien Desabre said had forged a tight group. “I’m so happy for the Congolese people and these players. They have fought resil iently through these qualifiers,” the French-born coach said. – Reuters

Congo’s Axel Tuanzebe (right) and Jamaica’s Leon Bailey vie for the ball during their World Cup playoff final match in Mexico yesterday. – AFPPIC

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