The 40th Merdeka Tournament was played from 15 to 25 October 2008.[1] The tournament was won by Vietnam, who defeated Malaysia 6-5 on penalties in the final.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Malaysia |
| Dates | 15–25 October |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 56 (3.73 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | (5 goals) |
← 2007 2013 → | |
Teams
editAfghanistan
Bangladesh
Malaysia (host country)
Mozambique*
Myanmar
Nepal
Sierra Leone**
Vietnam***
*Mozambique replaced Kazakhstan following Kazakhstan’s failure to confirm participation.[2] Mozambique will play with their Under 20 squad.
**Sierra Leone will be sending their Under 20 squad.
***Vietnam will be sending their Under 22 squad.[3]
Stadiums
edit| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Kuala Lumpur | Bukit Jalil National Stadium* | 100,000 |
| Shah Alam | Shah Alam Stadium | 81,000 |
| Petaling Jaya | MBPJ Stadium | 25,000 |
*Venue for last group match change because of the poor pitch condition at the MBPJ Stadium.[4]
Group stages
editAll times local (UTC+8)
Group A
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 | 9 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | –6 | 1 | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | –11 | 1 |
| Malaysia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Indra Putra Safee Aidil Adha |
Report |
Attendance: 41,500
| Afghanistan | 1–6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Qadami |
Report | Turay A. Kamara Kabia Foray S. Kamara |
| Malaysia | 6–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ashaari Nizaruddin Adha Safee Hairuddin |
Report |
Attendance: 3,000
Group B
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | –4 | 3 | |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | –2 | 1 |
| Myanmar | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Zaw Htet Aung |
Report | Thanh Bình Đức Thiện |
| Bangladesh | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Jange |
| Mozambique | 0–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Thanh Bình Đình Tùng Quang Vinh |
| Bangladesh | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ameli Zahid |
Report | Văn Khải Thanh Bình |
| Mozambique | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Saize Peguenino |
Report | Min Thu Soe Myat Min Khin Maung Lwin |
Knockout stages
editAll times local (UTC+8)
Bracket
edit| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 23 October | ||||||
| 2 (3) | ||||||
| 25 October | ||||||
| 2 (2) | ||||||
| 0 (6) | ||||||
| 23 October | ||||||
| 0 (5) | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 0 | ||||||
Semi-finals
edit| Vietnam | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Quang Vinh Đức Thiện |
Report | Kabia Foray |
| Penalties | ||
| Nhật Nam Thanh Bình Công Huy Đức Thiện |
3–2 | |
Attendance: 5,000
| Malaysia | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Indra Putra Safee Amirul Hadi |
Report |
Final
editWinners
edit| 2008 Merdeka Tournament winner |
|---|
Vietnam 1st title |
Goalscorers
edit
|
|
|
References
edit- ^ "Sathia sees the bright side of Merdeka tourney". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Shorter Hari Raya holidays for the national players". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Vietnam Name Merdeka Cup Squad". Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ Malaysia demolish young Sierra Leone side to sail into the semis Archived 6 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Thestar 18 October 2008.