KUALA LUMPUR — Local football fans are in for a double treat this week as both the senior and Under-23 squads will see action at the international level in the next five days.
The senior squad will be playing international Tier 1 friendly matches in China against Syria tomorrow followed by hosts China on Saturday, while the U-23 squad will be in Chonburi, Thailand from September 6 to 12 to compete in the 2024 Asian Cup qualifiers and try their best to secure their berth in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
The upcoming two friendly matches are not only significant to the Harimau Malaya squad as they seek to extend their four-match winning streak but also vital for national head coach Kim Pan-gon to fine-tune his squad to face the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers in November, as well as the 2023 Asian Cup Championship in Qatar next January.
After having raked up four wins with a sterling record of 17 goals scored and only one against, the squad’s confidence is put to the test when they take on higher-ranking teams, 94th-ranked Syria and 80th-ranked China.
Pan-gon will definitely be looking at how strong the team’s defence actually is, as they have yet to be pushed hard in previous matches, as well as how they perform playing away, as their four previous victories were all results of playing at home.
The exposure the players stand to gain in China certainly will help them improve their mental strength in dealing with the pressures of playing in front of a stadium full of rival fans in any upcoming championship.
Another crucial issue Pan-gon is likely concerned with is whether the tactical approach he has instilled in the squad so far is a success, all of which depends on how the squad will fare against the two higher-ranked teams.
It goes without saying that the results and the squad’s performance during the friendlies will have a significant impact on the squad’s gameplay and Pan Gon’s plans for the World Cup/Asia Cup qualifiers.
On paper, Syria is better much off against 136th ranked Malaysia, but they have not been playing well recently, losing two of their three friendlies this year, and seven losses the year before.
Syria started the year well with a 3-1 win over Thailand in March, then succumbed to two successive losses, 0-1 to Bahrain also in March, then 0-1 to Vietnam in June, so it would not be impossible for Malaysia, which will field one of their best lineups, to consign the Qasioun Eagles to their third consecutive loss.
Meanwhile, U-23 squad coach E Elavarasan has the unenviable task of guiding his charges to secure their place in the Paris Olympics by qualifying for the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup finals after failing to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
They will face Bangladesh tomorrow, the Philippines on Saturday and hosts Thailand on Tuesday and try their best to finish either as Group H champions or the best four group runners-up to qualify for the finals.
Boasting several players with experience playing in the senior squad, such as Muhammad Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi, Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad, and Sikh Izhan Nazrel Sikh Azman, along with Nooa Laine dan Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, who play in foreign leagues, the U-23 squad, who won the Merlion Cup in March, is actually expected to have little trouble accomplishing their task.
Doubts remain about their level of teamwork, and a pattern of careless mistakes and unconverted easy chances, that have led to their failure to qualify for the finals of the 2023 South East Asia (SEA) Games in Cambodia in May, and the 2023 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) U-23 Championship last month. — September 5, 2023