Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
AZWAN Ali Rahman is now Brunei's leading scorer after he netted the opener in the Sultanate's 3-1 loss to Timor Leste in the second leg of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 qualifiers on Tuesday.
Nur Asyraffahmi Norsamei laid off for Azwan Ali to finish a superb right-footed shot from 20 yards out past Timor Leste custodian Dylan Niksi at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium.
The Brunei skipper is now on nine goals, surpassing Shahrazen Said's tally of eight.
It took the 34-year-old a total of 32 caps to achieve the milestone – with more than half of them coming against Timor Leste.
The midfielder was first called up to the senior national team in 2012 and he opened his account in a 2-1 win against Timor Leste in the 2012 AFF Championship qualifiers in Myanmar.
He then got a brace as a second half substitute in a 4-0 win against the same opponents at the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup in Kuching.
Azwan Ali increased his tally after he scored in the away leg of the 2018 AFF Championship qualifiers where they lost 3-1 against Timor Leste in Kuala Lumpur.
He made it five goals after netting in a friendly against Laos losing 3-2 in March 2022.
The DPMM FC captain found the back of the net in both their friendly matches against Sri Lanka in June 2024 - winning both with matching 1-0 scorelines.
He equalled Shahrazen's goal record after scoring against Macau in the playoff round of the 2027 Asian Cup second leg.
