The Brunei Darussalam national under-23 team began their campaign in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Qualifiers with a crushing 9-0 defeat to Jordan in Group ‘A’ at the Prince Mohammad Stadium in Zarqa City yesterday.
The home side opened the scoring in the 10th minute after Reziq Mohammed Banihani turned the ball home from close range after his initial header had struck the base of the post following a delivery from Amin Farid Al Shanaineh.
The Jordanians doubled their lead six minutes later as Sief Addeen Darwish raced clear off his marker and gleefully accepted Amin Fari’s cross to guide the ball past Brunei under-23 goalkeeper Jefri Syafiq Ishak.
Having already contributed with two assists and cementing his position as a firm contender for man-of-the-match, the excellent Al Shanaineh expertly executed a free-kick in the 22nd minute.
The Young Wasps went into the break 3-0 down but things were about to get worse as the hosts ran riot including plunging three goals deep into injury time.
The goal frenzy continued three minutes into the restart as defender Mohammad Majel Jamil simply could not miss a simple header after being set up by a teammate.
The excellent Al Shanaineh produced class and brilliance after single-handedly bamboozling the entire Bruneian defence with dribbling mastery before providing an instinctive finish.
With two goals, two assists and tormenting the Bruneians for a vast majority of the tie, there should be no argument that Al Shanaineh would be leaving the field with the match ball.
Brunei team captain Nazhan Zulkifle misfortunately turned the ball into his own net after his teammate had initially cleared a shot from a Jordan player in the 84th minute.
However, there were more misfortunes as substitute Wafiq Danish Hasimulabdillah – the only player who has an international goal in the squad – shared his teammate’s disappointment of netting an own goal in the 92nd minute.
The rampant Jordanians made it 8-0 three minutes later as Mohannad Abu Taha buried the ball home following a good team move in the box.
There was still time for a ninth as Waseem Wasef Alriyalat closed the game in style with a brilliant piece of skill easing past defenders before finishing the move with a curled effort.
The Brunei under-23 team, who are under the guidance of newly-appointed head coach Atsushi Hanita, will play against Syria tomorrow. – Fadhil Yunus
