MPFL Final 1st Leg - Commentator Notes

• Pahang Rangers (coach – Eloy ALONSO)
• Qualified as third in the regular season; semi-final winners v JDT (8-5 on aggregate)
• MPFL 2026 Record
• Regular season, P16, W12, D1, L3, F98, A35, GD +63, PTS 37, finished 3rd behind Selangor (48) and JDT (40)
• Scored five or more goals in 11 of 16 league matches; three clean sheets (Terengganu 7-0, USM 2-0, Wipers 10-0)
• Biggest win 19-2 v Wipers (Circuit 2), the highest-scoring match of the regular season
• Defeats: Selangor L3-5 (Circuit 4, their first loss of the season), Selangor L2-5 (Circuit 6), JDT L4-5 (Circuit 7); draw: JDT D3-3 (Circuit 1)
• Last three league matches: USM W2-0, PFA Odin W6-1, Wipers W10-0
• Play-offs, P3, W3, F17, A7: ATM W9-2 (19 Sep); semi-final v JDT, first leg W4-2 (26 Sep), second leg W4-3 after extra time (10 Oct)
• Second leg v JDT: trailed 3-2 at the end of normal time (JDT led from the 26th minute); Rodrigo Da Silva (48th) and Felipe De Souza (49th) scored in extra time
• Rodrigo Da Silva named MVP in both semi-final legs; De Souza played the second half of the first leg with a bandage round his head after a clash with Andresito
• Felipe De Souza (17, BRA): 33 league goals + 4 in the play-offs; Rodrigo Da Silva (10, BRA, 32): 20 league goals + 4 in the play-offs (tallies from the match log)
• Captain Akmarulnizam Idris scored in the 9-2 win over ATM

History

• Founded in November 2016 as Kuantan Rangers; rebranded Pahang Rangers on 12 February 2019 and turned fully professional
• Nicknamed Tok Gajah (The Elephants); colours black and white; play at the SUKPA Indoor Stadium, Kuantan (capacity listed as 5,000)
• Won the 2017 Brunei Futsal League as an invited team, unbeaten (W7, D2); finished fifth in the 2018 Liga Futsal Kebangsaan
• MPFL runners-up in 2019 and 2022 (both behind Selangor MAC); third in 2024 and 2025
• 2023 double: won the MPFL (beat holders Selangor MAC in the semi-final, then JDT 9-6 on aggregate in the final) and the Malaysia Futsal Cup (beat JDT in the final) under Gerard Casas
• Runners-up in the Malaysia Futsal Cup in 2022 (3-4 v Selangor MAC) and 2025 (3-13 v Selangor); fourth at the 2023 AFF Futsal Club Championship
• The rivalry with Selangor began in 2019 after a 0-6 pre-season friendly defeat; Pahang won the first league meeting 4-2 on 21 August 2019
• Coaches: Taufik Yaiyah (2019), Gerard Casas (2020 to August 2024), Luis Fonseca (August 2024 to early 2026), Eloy Alonso (since 26 February 2026)

• Coach – Eloy ALONSO (ESP)
• Appointed 26 February 2026, the club's fourth head coach; first season at Pahang Rangers
• Said before the season that the aim was a repeat of the 2023 double and that the management was hungry for trophies
• Brought in Rodrigo Da Silva ("Rodriguinho") to partner Felipe De Souza; lost both league meetings with Selangor (3-5, 2-5)
• League record this season, W12, D1, L3; play-offs W3 from 3

Selangor FC (coach – Edgar BALDASSO)

Qualified as regular-season winners; semi-final winners v Terengganu (12-3 on aggregate)

• MPFL 2026 Record

• Regular season, P16, W16, D0, L0, F126, A24, GD +102, PTS 48, finished 1st, eight points clear of JDT
• Scored five or more goals in 15 of 16 league matches (the exception, KL City W3-1); four clean sheets (Wipers 13-0, Terengganu 7-0, USM 14-0, ATM 5-0)
• Never conceded more than three in a match; conceded three four times (JDT 5-3 and 6-3, Pahang 5-3, Terengganu 11-3)
• Biggest wins: 14-0 v USM (Circuit 6) and 13-0 v Wipers (Circuit 1)
• Beat JDT twice (5-3 in Circuit 3, 6-3 in Circuit 8) and Pahang Rangers twice (5-3 in Circuit 4, 5-2 in Circuit 6)
• Play-offs, P2, W2, F12, A3: semi-final v Terengganu, first leg W6-2 (3 Oct), second leg W6-1 (17 Oct)
• First leg: Marlon scored four (2nd, 4th, 5th and 19th minutes); second leg: six different scorers, Faris Johan MVP
• 18 wins from 18 matches this season, regular season and play-offs
• Marlon (10, BRA): 30 league goals + 4 in the play-offs; Evandro Borges (22, BRA): 15 + 1; Syahir Iqbal (6): 15 + 2; Mohd Khairul (9, captain): 14 + 1 (tallies from the match log)
• Goalkeeper Syaifuddin Syukri was named best goalkeeper at the 2025 Malaysia Futsal Cup

History

• Founded in 2005 as Selangor FA; became Selangor MAC in 2019 (a merger of MAC FC and Selangor United MPSJ) and Selangor FC Futsal on 10 December 2023
• Nicknamed The Red Giants; play at the Panasonic National Sports Complex, Shah Alam
• Won the first MPFL in 2019 and defended it in 2022; a title is also listed for 2010-11; hold the record for most league titles
• Malaysia Futsal Cup winners in 2022 (the inaugural edition, completing a first double) and 2025; runners-up in 2024 (lost the final to JDT)
• Second in the league in 2024 and 2025; lost to Pahang in the 2023 MPFL semi-final
• Third at the AFF Futsal Club Championship in 2021 and 2022, their best finish
• Beat Pahang 4-3 in the 2022 Malaysia Futsal Cup final (Mohd Khairul MVP) and 13-3 in the 2025 final (Syahir Iqbal MVP)
• Coaches: Addy Shairullyzam (2019 to August 2022, two MPFL titles and the 2022 Cup), Beto Aranha (August to November 2022), Edgar Baldasso (since 20 November 2022)

Coach – Edgar BALDASSO (BRA) [age and background not found]

• Appointed 20 November 2022; Malaysia Futsal Cup winner in 2025, runner-up in 2024
• Record to August 2025 in competitive matches, P58, W44, D3, L11, F311, A135, win rate 75.9%
• Unbeaten this season: 18 wins from 18
• Head to Head – Pahang Rangers v Selangor

League

• Nine meetings: Selangor W4, D2, Pahang W3; goals Selangor 39, Pahang 34
• Selangor have won the last three, 7-2, 5-3 and 5-2, scoring 17 to Pahang's 7
• 2026: Pahang 3-5 Selangor (20 June, Kuantan, Syahir Iqbal two goals and MVP); Selangor 5-2 Pahang (18 July, Shah Alam, Marlon hat-trick, two penalties)
• Until June 2026 every decided league meeting had been won by the home side; Selangor's 5-3 was the first away win
• Pahang's other recent home wins: 8-4 (February 2024, season-high crowd of 2,697) and 6-5 (May 2025)
• Pahang won the first meeting 4-2 (August 2019); Selangor's first league win over Pahang came in June 2024 (6-5)

Players and storylines

• Mohd Khairul (Selangor captain) is a former Pahang player; scored against his old club in July
• Felipe De Souza has scored against Selangor in 2024, 2025 and 2026, including a hat-trick in the 8-4 win in February 2024
• Pahang have been through this scenario already: in the semi-final JDT won the second leg in normal time and Pahang still won the tie in extra time