Kuala Lampur, Aug. 17 -- KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 - Malaysia have an uphill task to qualify for the final after losing 2-0 to Vietnam in the first leg of their 2026 ASEAN Cup semi-final clash at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras here last night.

A Nguyen Xuan Son goal in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time and an own goal by Muhammad Faris Danish Asrul in the 86th minute have handed Vietnam the upper hand for Wednesday's return leg at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.

The first half was almost evenly contested, although neither the Harimau Malaya, coached by interim head coach Tan Cheng Hoe, nor the visitors set the pulses racing during the opening 30 minutes.

Malaysia finally fired the first salvo in the 35th minute when Vietna...