DOHA – The moment all Malaysian football fans have been waiting for is just around the corner as Malaysia prepare to face Jordan in their opening Asian Cup Group E match at the Al Janoub Stadium here tomorrow (1.30am on January 16, Malaysian time).
The match, held at a venue for the 2022 World Cup, will see Malaysia’s South Korean coach Kim Pan-gon lead his charges in the continental competition after a 17-year lapse since participating as the host country in 2007.
Though on paper Jordan, who are ranked 87th in the FIFA rankings, are favourites over 130th-ranked Malaysia, the Harimau Malaya squad will be hoping to create history by collecting at least a point to boost their chances of making the last 16.
Malaysia have failed to register a win against Jordan in five previous meetings, losing three and drawing two. Their last meeting was in a friendly in 2001, which ended in a 0-4 loss for the Harimau Malaya.
However, Jordan, coached by Moroccan Hussein Ammouta, have been in stuttering recent form with only three wins in their last 11 matches.
In fact, their morale heading into the Asian Cup campaign in Doha has not been all rosy, especially after having lost to defending champions Japan by big margins on four occasions, the latest being a 6-1 trouncing last week.
In contrast, Malaysia headed to Qatar on the back of an impressive run of results and sky-high confidence after some outstanding results against higher-ranked teams, winning seven and drawing two since March last year.
Among notable wins registered by Pan-gon’s charges include a 4-2 defeat of India in the 2023 Merdeka Cup last October and a 4-3 win over Kyrgyzstan in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers last November.
Earlier, Malaysia had played out a 2-2 draw against Syria, a 1-1 draw against China during two friendlies in September, and registered another 2-2 draw against Syria in Doha, during a friendly last week.
If Malaysia aspire to register a positive result in their encounter against Jordan, they need to defuse the threat posed by prolific striker Hamza Al Dardour – their all-time top scorer with 33 goals thus far.
Apart from Hamza, Jordan can count on Musa Al-Taamari, who plays in France with Ligue 1 club Montpellier, Noor Al-Rawabdeh, who plays for Selangor, former Kedah striker Mahmoud Al-Mardi and ex-Selangor defender Yazan Al-Arab.
Malaysia on the other hand are certain to miss the services of Endrick Dos Santos, who has yet to recover from an injury, while La’vere Corbin-Ong is another casualty for tomorrow’s match.
Therefore based on the report card of both teams, all directions point to an exciting and close match with the right technique and strategy applied by Pan-gon, and there is reason to believe that the Harimau Malaya are able to pull off a surprise.
Jordan are appearing in the Asian Cup for the fifth time and had qualified for the quarter-finals twice, namely in 2004 and 2011, while Malaysia have not advanced from the group stages in three previous campaigns. – January 14, 2024