KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 — The intensity of the nail-biting decider between Malaysia and Singapore in the 2024 Asean Cup Group A match was evident when fans mounted the excitement as they thronged the Bukit Jalil National Stadium (SNBJ) grounds here from 4pm today.

The Harimau Malaya squad coached by Pau Marti Vicente, currently ranked 132nd in the world, will face Singapore, ranked world 160th, in the country’s final Group A match which will kick off at 9pm tonight.

A draw will send Singapore through to the semifinals while Malaysia must win to stay alive for the odds.

A Bernama check witnessed Harimau Malaya’s hallowed ground flooded with a sea of yellow and black as local fans denoted as the "12th player” wore the national jersey.

Mohammad Hafiz Mohd Yusof, a civil servant from Penang, even made it a family outing by bringing his wife and four children who are football fans to Bukit Jalil to watch the showdown of archfoes tonight.

"I took leave to come here, leaving Penang at 7am today and staying overnight in Kuala Lumpur to watch this match.

"My family is really into football, my daughter Nur Qistina Uzma Mohammad Hafiz is a player for the Real CJ Penang club and also plays for the National Women’s League (LWN),” he said today.

Meanwhile, a couple of tourists from Germany, Romina Zettl and Johannes Piepel who are on holiday in Malaysia, also did not miss the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of local football action.

"I got a little bit lucky, saw them playing on the internet and tickets being not that expensive, I thought let’s go and watch this game in the Asean Cup. I think Malaysia has some power to win the game and with home fans here, it will be great,” Johannes said.

There were also several Singaporean supporters spotted filling the stadium in addition to several activities to entertain the fans with robust ticket sales fuelling the atmosphere ahead of kick-off.

It is estimated that nearly 22,000 spectators will fill the stadium tonight as more than 21,000 tickets were sold as of 6pm.

Currently, Malaysia are in fourth place in Group A on four points, as with Cambodia in third place.

Singapore are lying second with six points, while defending champions Thailand have already confirmed progress to the semi-finals as the group leader on nine points.

For the record, tonight’s match is a repeat of the last meeting of Group B in the 2022 edition, where Malaysia bounced back to defeat Singapore 4-1 at the same venue to qualify for the semi-finals. — Bernama