shwedarling.com

Myanmar official newspapers Wednesday hailed the Myanmar football team triumphing in the 38th Merdeka football tournament.

Myanmar beat Indonesia 2-1 Tuesday night in the final of the Merdaka football tournament at the Shah Alam Stadium in Malaysia.

Myanmar defeating Indonesia in the final is their fourth victory in the Merdeka football tournament history since 1957, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

It was the second meeting between them in the final of the Merdaka tournament. The first was in 1971 final when Myanmar beat Indonesia and won the trophy, the paper added.

Myanmar team deserves to be champions for its perseverance, full strength and spirit against the Indonesian team throughout the 90 minutes in the final of the Merdeka tournament, The Mirror newspaper stressed.

Myanmar, stand at 164th based on the Federation of International Football (FIFA) ranking for August, drew 2-2 against Thailand U-23, tied Indonesia, 146th, with a scoreless sheet, and beat host Malaysia, 148th, 2-1, securing a spot in the final.

Indonesia also reached to the final by tieing 1-1 and 0-0 against Malaysia and Myanmar respectively and edging Thailand U-23 1-0.

Myanmar, a former powerhouse of the Merdeka football competition, have disappeared from the tournament since 1980 and return to the tournament after more than 25 years absence.

The Merdeka football tournament is one of the oldest football competition in Southeast Asia, participating mainly by national teams form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

Myanmar won the Merdeka trophy three times in 1964, 1967 and 1971.

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