2008 Merdeka Tournament
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Malaysia | 
| Dates | 15–25 October | 
| Teams | 8 | 
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Vietnam (1st title) | 
| Runners-up |  Malaysia | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 | 
| Goals scored | 56 (3.73 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) |  Mohd Safee Mohd Sali (5 goals) | 
| ← 2007  2013 →  | |
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.
Teams
.svg.png) Afghanistan Afghanistan
 Bangladesh Bangladesh
 Malaysia (host country) Malaysia (host country)
 Mozambique* Mozambique*
.svg.png) Myanmar Myanmar
 Nepal Nepal
 Sierra Leone** Sierra Leone**
 Vietnam*** 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
| 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
All times local (UTC+8)
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Malaysia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 | 9 | 
|  Sierra Leone | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 6 | 
|  Nepal | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | –6 | 1 | 
| .svg.png) Afghanistan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | –11 | 1 | 
| Malaysia  | 4–0 |  Sierra Leone | 
|---|---|---|
| Indra Putra  69' Safee  75' Aidil  79' Adha  90' | Report | 
Attendance: 41,500
| Afghanistan .svg.png) | 1–6 |  Sierra Leone | 
|---|---|---|
| Qadami  47' | Report | Turay  20' A. Kamara  51' Kabia  60' Foray  76', 86' S. Kamara  88' | 
| Nepal  | 1–3 |  Sierra Leone | 
|---|---|---|
| Rai  40' (pen.) | Report | Bah  6' Turay  88' Freeman  90' | 
| Malaysia  | 6–0 | .svg.png) Afghanistan | 
|---|---|---|
| Ashaari  21', 64' Nizaruddin  41' Adha  44' Safee  85' Hairuddin  87' | Report | 
Attendance: 3,000
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Vietnam | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 7 | 
| .svg.png) Myanmar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 
|  Mozambique | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | –4 | 3 | 
|  Bangladesh | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | –2 | 1 | 
| Myanmar .svg.png) | 1–3 |  Vietnam | 
|---|---|---|
| Zaw Htet Aung  44' | Report | Thanh Bình  3', 47' Đức Thiện  74' | 
| Bangladesh  | 0–1 |  Mozambique | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Jange  88' | 
| Mozambique  | 0–4 |  Vietnam | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | Thanh Bình  58' Đình Tùng  63', 80' Quang Vinh  72' | 
| Bangladesh  | 2–2 |  Vietnam | 
|---|---|---|
| Ameli  32' Zahid  49' | Report | Văn Khải  4' Thanh Bình  62' | 
| Mozambique  | 2–3 | .svg.png) Myanmar | 
|---|---|---|
| Saize  40' Peguenino  65' | Report | Min Thu  57' Soe Myat Min  69' Khin Maung Lwin  72' | 
Knockout stages
All times local (UTC+8)
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 23 October | ||||||
|  Vietnam (p) | 2 (3) | |||||
| 25 October | ||||||
|  Sierra Leone | 2 (2) | |||||
|  Vietnam (p) | 0 (6) | |||||
| 23 October | ||||||
|  Malaysia | 0 (5) | |||||
|  Malaysia | 4 | |||||
| .svg.png) Myanmar | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Vietnam  | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |  Sierra Leone | 
|---|---|---|
| Quang Vinh  73' Đức Thiện  81' | Report | Kabia  39' Foray  68' | 
| Penalties | ||
| Nhật Nam  Thanh Bình  Công Huy  Đức Thiện  | 3–2 |  ??  ??  ??  Kabia  Bah | 
Attendance: 5,000
| Malaysia  | 4–0 | .svg.png) Myanmar | 
|---|---|---|
| Indra Putra  26', 76' (pen.) Safee  61' Amirul Hadi  83' | Report | 
Final
| Vietnam  | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |  Malaysia | 
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| Nhật Nam  Danh Ngọc  Công Huy  Đức Thiện  Văn Duyệt  Tiến Thành  | 6–5 |  Indra Putra  Safee  Hardi  Ashaari  Daudsu  Norhafiz | 
Winners
| 2008 Merdeka Tournament winner | 
|---|
|  Vietnam 1st title | 
Goalscorers
| 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 | 
 
 | 
References
- ^ "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.