The journey of hope began for national football head coach and his Harimau Malaya team as they left for Phnom Penh from KLIA on Deepavali day morning.
Head coach, although happy with the players “oozing with confidence” had a strong message for the 23-player squad for the opening Group A match against Cambodia at the National Olympic Stadium on Thursday.
On paper, it looks easy playing Cambodia whose recent performance has left many question marks on the team’s campaign in the AFF Suzuki Cup – the region’s premier football tournament.
“We may have beaten Cambodia in a friendly in September but it stops at that. This time around it is different ball game and different environment for us…it is a tournament.
“The intensity of a tournament match is always different compared to a friendly match. We have to be on guard and we have to be fully focused and ready to face the challenge,” said Cheng Hoe from KLIA before he left with the team to Phnom Penh.
Apart from Cambodia, the other teams in the group are Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
After Cambodia, the Malaysians will be at home to Laos at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on Nov 12 followed by an away match against Vietnam at the My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi (Nov 16) before completing their group fixtures with a match against Myanmar on Nov 24.
“Playing on an artificial turf has its pitfalls…the bounce of the ball is unpredictable plus energy sapping. We have to be ready for all that and have to grab every opportunity to score,” added Cheng Hoe.
National players received a timely boost for the match against Cambodia with Safawi Rasid leading the charge by winning three awards at Monday’s National Football Awards in Kuala Lumpur.
Safawi was named the Most Valuable Player apart from being named Best Midfielder and Most Promising Player. Goalkeeper Farizal Marlias was named the Best Goalkeeper while Akhyar Rashid was voted the Best Striker.
“Overall the players are inspired and ready to do battle. Hopefully, they will be able to deliver against Cambodia.”
Cheng Hoe also revealed that Akhyar, who did not play in the friendly against the Maldives on Nov 3 due to a groin injury has recovered. Malaysia beat the South Asia champions 3-0. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
