Malaysia produced a dominant 6-0 victory over Singapore in their final Group A match of the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup on Oct. 1, but the emphatic result was not enough to secure a place in the tournament final.
Bergson da Silva opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the eighth minute after a VAR review awarded Malaysia a penalty. Stuart Wilkin then doubled the lead in the 26th minute after finishing a move created by Manuel Hidalgo.
Malaysia continued to control the match after halftime. Bergson scored his second goal in the 62nd minute, finishing a cross from Arif Aiman to put the Harimau Malaya three goals ahead.
Paulo Josue added a fourth in the 76th minute, while Syahir Bashah scored Malaysia’s fifth in the 86th minute. Bergson completed his hat-trick in stoppage time to cap a six-goal performance.
Singapore struggled to find a response despite creating opportunities early in the match. Goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi made important saves to deny Song Ui-young and Kyoga Nakamura as Malaysia protected its early advantage.
The victory lifted Malaysia to seven points at the top of Group A alongside Indonesia. However, Indonesia produced a 9-2 victory over Bangladesh in the other decisive group match, leaving both teams with seven points and the same goal difference.
Indonesia advanced because it scored 11 goals in the group stage compared with Malaysia’s nine. The result means Malaysia’s six-goal victory over Singapore ultimately fell short of the scoring margin needed to overtake Indonesia.
Singapore finished third in Group A with three points after previously losing 2-0 to Indonesia and beating Bangladesh 1-0. The defeat to Malaysia ended the Lions’ campaign and marked their heaviest loss under coach Gavin Lee.
Malaysia will now play the Group B runners-up in the third-place playoff in Jakarta on Oct. 5. Indonesia, meanwhile, will face Group B winners Thailand in the FIFA ASEAN Cup final on the same day.
The result leaves Malaysia with a notable contrast: a six-goal win over its regional rival, yet elimination from the title race because of the goals scored in the simultaneous Indonesia-Bangladesh match.
