KUALA LUMPUR – Former national team captain Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan believes that Harimau Malaya players should improve their defending in wide spaces on the pitch if they hope to get a decent result in their second Group E match against Bahrain tomorrow (Saturday).
Speaking to Scoop, the 62-year-old said that head coach Kim Pan-gon’s charges have to move on from their opening-day defeat and approach their next match with a more cautious mentality.
“Tomorrow’s game is going to be a do-or-die mission for Harimau Malaya, and they have to try their level best to win their match. We do have experience playing against Bahrain in the past, and by now, the players should know what to expect and how to overcome them.
“They are a physically superior side, and Pan-gon’s players should not give a lot of space to their opponents, especially in the midfield. Majority of the players participating in the Asian Cup are elites who play in the top leagues in the world and know how to punish us with their quick decision-making with the ball.
“The standard of the tournament is really high, and Harimau Malaya should take each game seriously. Even the simplest mistake on the pitch can turn out to haunt the players if they are not vigilant enough.
“I believe in Pan-gon, and I think by now he would have analysed the team’s flaws from the previous match and improved upon them.
“It’s time for the players to move on from their previous game and play better in the next match, or else they might get humiliated again for the second game in a row,” said Zainal, who won 116 caps and scored 50 goals for Malaysia in his sterling career.
Meanwhile, former national goalkeeper Syed Adney echoed a similar sentiment but believes that Pan-gon’s players will learn from their mistakes in the opening match.
The Liverpool-born player said that it is beneficial for the squad to be exposed and compete against some of the best footballing nations in Asia so that they can be well-prepared for bigger challenges in the future.
“We cannot judge Pan-gon’s tactics based on one game, and I believe that he would have moulded his team better for their upcoming match.
“It’s not easy for the team to play at such a competitive level, as the entire squad doesn’t have experience playing in the Asian Cup before. They were not bad in their opening match; it’s just that they could have done better.
“We were bad in the first half of the match against Jordan, but players like Akhyar Rashid and Muhammad Safawi Rashid showed up in the second half, and our performance was better.
“I believe that this is the beginning of the golden era for Malaysian football. The more we play in tournaments and games like this, the better equipped the team will be in the future,” said Syed Adney, who played for the national team between 2007 and 2011.
Malaysia began their Asian Cup campaign with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Jordan in their opening Group E match at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Monday.
Jordan’s goals were scored courtesy of a brace each from Mahmoud Almardi (12th and 32nd minutes) and Mousa Altamari (18th, 86th).
Currently sitting at the bottom of Group E, Malaysia will play their second group match against Bahrain tomorrow and South Korea on January 25. – January 19, 2024
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