Bangladesh Face Free-Scoring Malaysia as Korea and China Fight for Their First Points
Friday’s first two games in Jalandhar are about very different kinds of pressure. Malaysia are chasing a third straight win. Bangladesh, South Korea and China are all still chasing their first point.
Bangladesh play Malaysia at 2:00pm PKT, and the assignment is brutal. Malaysia have scored eight goals in two games. They edged China 5-4 on the opening day, then beat South Korea 3-1 on Thursday, with Azimuddin Kamaruddin opening the scoring in the 10th minute, Akhimullah Anaur converting a penalty corner in the 36th and Faizal Saari sealing it in the 50th. Korea’s reply came from Haeseong Song in the 31st minute, and for a while that made it a game. Malaysia had too much in the end.
Bangladesh, though, will not arrive beaten before they start. They lost 13-0 to India on Tuesday, then held Japan to a single goal on Thursday, losing 1-0 to captain Raiki Fujishima’s 40th-minute penalty corner. That is a side that found its shape overnight. Malaysia will expect to win, and for our money they will, but Bangladesh have already shown they can make a good team work for every opening. If Malaysia start slowly, this gets awkward.
The second game, South Korea against China at 4:15pm PKT, is the one with real jeopardy. Both sides have lost twice. Korea lost 3-2 to Japan and 3-1 to Malaysia, competitive in both, winners in neither. China lost 5-4 to Malaysia in a nine-goal opener, then 5-2 to India on Thursday, with Yang Peng and Chen Chongcong scoring against the hosts. China can score. Both teams can score. Neither has defended well enough yet.
The table makes it simple. India, Malaysia and Japan sit on six points each, India top on goal difference. The other three sit on none. Four teams go through to the semi-finals in Mohali, so the loser on Friday afternoon is not out, but they would be three games down with two to play and chasing a top four that is pulling away. The winner is right back in it.
Korea’s problem is finishing games they are in. China’s problem is the other end: nine goals conceded in two matches, and India cut through them whenever the pace went up. Something has to give in the second half of this one. For our money, the team that scores first wins it, because neither side looks built to chase.
Then comes the night game, Japan against India at 6:30pm PKT, the meeting of two unbeaten sides. But the afternoon sets it up. A Malaysia win takes them to nine points and outright top before the night game starts. A Korea or China win blows the bottom half of the table wide open. Friday in Jalandhar is not a warm-up for the evening. It is the day the semi-final race takes shape.
Related links:
- https://sportscursor.com/japan-v-india-asian-champions-trophy-friday-30-october-2026-preview/
- https://sportscursor.com/malaysia-3-1-south-korea-asian-champions-trophy-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/bangladesh-0-1-japan-asian-champions-trophy-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/india-5-2-china-asian-champions-trophy-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/live/
