Three All: JDT and Pahang Light Up the Opening Weekend
Johor Darul Ta'zim led Pahang Rangers 3-0 at the break, only for the visitors to storm back and seal a 3-3 draw that lit up the first weekend of the season.
Every season needs an early reminder of why supporters fall in love with the game, and the 2026 Malaysia Premier Futsal League found one on its opening weekend. Johor Darul Ta'zim and Pahang Rangers, two of the most familiar faces at the top of the table, served up a 3-3 draw that swung from one extreme to the other and announced the new campaign in style.
On paper it had the makings of a heavyweight contest. Johor are the back to back champions, winners in 2024 and 2025, while Pahang have finished third in each of the last two seasons and arrived with genuine ambition. The early exchanges matched the billing, Pahang's Brazilian Felipe De Souza forcing a smart save with an acrobatic overhead inside the opening seconds.
It was Johor, though, who took control. They led inside five minutes, doubled the advantage through Bruno Taffy and made it three before the break through Firdaus Ambiah. A three-goal cushion at half time against anyone is a commanding position, and against the champions it looked close to decisive.
Pahang clearly had other ideas. They began the second half with purpose, hit the post, then found the goal that changed the mood when Rodriguinho pulled one back. Within moments the deficit was a single goal, and the comeback was completed when Akmarulnizam fired home to level the scores at 3-3. From three down to three all, Eloy Alonso's side had rescued a point and a thrilling story.
Draws are sometimes filed away and forgotten, but this one carried weight beyond the single point each side took home. For Pahang it was proof of character, evidence that they can trade blows with the champions and refuse to fold when a match appears to be slipping away. Belief like that, banked on the opening weekend, can shape a whole season.
For Johor it was a useful early test under their new coach, a chance to learn about a side still finding its rhythm at the start of a long campaign. The champions remain the team everyone measures themselves against, and a high-scoring contest against a direct rival is exactly the kind of examination that sharpens a squad in May.
The match also offered an early glimpse of the imports who would shape the season. Bruno Taffy was among the scorers for Johor, while Pahang's Brazilian recruits hinted at the threat they would carry through the circuits. On the opening weekend, the league's marquee names announced themselves, and the contest between the champions and their nearest pursuers set a standard the rest of the season would chase.
It set a tone for Pahang in particular. A side that has finished third in each of the last two campaigns arrived wanting to close the gap on the top two, and rescuing a point against the holders from three goals down was the clearest possible signal that they intended to do exactly that. Confidence built on an afternoon like this can carry a team a long way.
Most of all it was a gift to the neutral. Six goals, a three-goal lead overturned and a grandstand finish are the ingredients of the matches people remember, and they arrived on day one. If the rest of the season follows the lead of this opener, the 2026 MPFL will be a fine watch.
