Malaysia matched China's performance on the first day of action in Group J of the AFC U23 Championship qualifier, at least from a points perspective. China currently lead the group after their 5-0 win over Laos with Malaysia right behind, with two goals less.
Malaysia's 3-0 win over Philippines came with a bit of hard work despite not needing long to break the opponent's defence. Akhyar Rashid scored in the 4th minute then added to his tally with a clever flick in the 31st minute but the home side were made to wait until the 82nd minute before Faisal rammed home the third goal.