JAKARTA: Indonesia and Malaysia made perfect starts to their FIFA ASEAN Cup campaigns as Group A kicked off at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, with both sides taking three points from Matchday 1.
Malaysia opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Bangladesh, before hosts Indonesia closed out the day with a 2-0 win against Singapore.
For Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley, the defeat highlighted the gap his developing side is attempting to close.
“This tournament is for us to learn, to develop, and so we got the first lesson today,” said Dooley, who acknowledged the difference in individual quality between the two teams while remaining pleased with his players’ effort.
Malaysia coach Tan Cheng Hoe was pleased with the result but quickly identified areas for improvement, particularly his side’s transitions and tendency to surrender possession too easily.
The victory was also a memorable occasion for Bergson, who made his Malaysia debut and admitted it was a moment he had once struggled to imagine.
“I never imagined being here,” he said. “This means a lot. I’m very proud and very happy.”
In the evening fixture, Indonesia took all three points against Singapore, although visiting coach Gavin Lee felt his side had contributed to its own problems by showing the hosts too much respect early on.
“We didn’t trust ourselves enough from the get-go,” Lee said, pointing to a much-improved second-half performance and his team’s continued fight even after being reduced to ten men.
Indonesia head coach John Herdman, meanwhile, used his post-match press conference to address the discussion surrounding the makeup of his national team.
“There is no local. There is no diaspora. We are Indonesian,” Herdman said. “We represent the flag, we sing the anthem and we stand together every time.”
“These people are Indonesian now. They love playing for you.”
Herdman also acknowledged that several Europe-based players are still adapting to conditions in Jakarta, with travel, heat and jet lag contributing to a physical drop-off as the match progressed.
There will be little time to settle, with Indonesia and Malaysia now preparing to meet in one of the headline fixtures of Matchday 2.
